Status Quo On ABDC

If you had only seen the SYTYCD season 3 auditions, you would think that Jamal Weaver was the star of the Status Quo Crew. As we're learning from America's Best Dance Crew, the star, heart, and soul of the crew is E-Knock, Ernest Phillips. Thursday night, Status Quo had to battle it out with ICONic to avoid elimination.


I'll be pulling for them all the way, but it's impossible to not love JabbaWockeeZ.

SYTYCD News Roundup

Watch for Anya Garnis during tomorrow
night's Oscar show. Finally, a reason to watch.







Sara Von Gillern will be touring across North America and Europe with Avril Lavigne beginning March 5th. It's a huge number of dates and goes everywhere from Kamloops, B.C to Riga, Latvia.

SCHEDULE


Missed this the first time through, but in this interview, Mary Murphy mentions that Wade Robson will be one of the choreographers on season 4. Maybe it's not a sure thing that he won't be returning, but I'm still hearing it's doubtful.


The Heartbeat Of Dance workshops feature 9 of our SYTYCD favorites and appears in the following cities:

April 26,27 Washington DC
May 17,18 York PA
May 31 and June 1 Allentown PA
June 14,15 Baltimore MD
June 21,22 Pittsburg PA

MORE INFO


Here's more on choreographer Doriana Sanchez and her long association with Cher. As we mentioned earlier, Doriana is choreographing Cher's new Las Vegas show beginning May 6th.

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Australian finalist Rhys Bobridge previously starred on a children's show called, um, The Fairies.



SIDE NOTE: This is BSYTYCD's 1000th post. Appropriately, our unofficial correspondent Loralyn contributed heavily to this report. Thanks to her and all the tipsters, fellow bloggers, article writers, recappers, photographers, videographers, video uploaders, and montage makers who give us so much great material to cover. Thanks especially to our readers and commenters from all over the world.

Australia Auditions Montage

Our buddy Buffmetube put together an excellent montage from the Australian auditions.

Sabra & Kameron Ease On Down The Road (Video)

More Plagiarism? (Video)

From a Russian show which, I believe, translates as Dance With Me. Fans of the US So You Think You Can Dance will instantly recognize both pieces.



If Mia and Shane didn't each get a check from the Russian producers, they've been ripped off.

Thanks to Loralyn for spotting these.

CORRECTION: It's Bulgarian, not Russian. My apologies, and thanks to a reader for spurring me to dig a little deeper.

SYTYCD News Roundup

Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and...Tyce Diorio??? Look close and you'll see them all in Paula's latest music video, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow”. Oh yeah, some guy named Simon shows up too.




Watch for season 2 finalist Jaymz Tuaileva in US commercials for Dulce de Leche Jello and Orbit Gum.




Our friend Carissa has videos comparing Pasha & Lauren's Shane Sparks-choreographed Transformers routine, and a recent Transformers routine from PBS's America's Ballroom Challenge. Plagiarism, or artistic homage?

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Mary Murphy referred to season 3 finalist Jimmy Arguello in a recent interview. He didn't get a chance to develop much of a fan base, but watch his I Can Only Imagine solo and tell me he isn't a serious talent.

Travis And Ivan NYCDA Solos (Video)

Travis


Ivan

_{Videos courtesy of dancer2289}

Sabra And Jaimie Are SYTYCDAustralia Fans (Video)

From NYCDA Pittsburgh:

Season 4 Audition Update

Mary Murphy talks to Hanh Nguyen of From Inside The Box. She says they'll be taking a LOT of dancers to Las Vegas this year:

Are you busy with auditions now?

MM: I've been doing a lot of the auditions. We're getting ready to do our last few cities. We have Washington, DC coming up this week, LA March 6th and Milwaukee will be our last audition stop before we bring probably close to 200 or over 200 into Las Vegas for the -- That's a very brutal cut there. We're going to go from probably 250 down to 40 in probably three days.

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The Washingtonian's Jasmine Touton stood in line with the hopefuls this morning in D.C.:

Groovers, spinners, and shakers queued up this morning, huddling in comforters and down jackets outside the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Northeast DC for a chance to get on the Fox TV show So You Think You Can Dance.

“I’ve just been kind of running in place,” said Jen Frantzen of the 30-degree weather.

Frantzen, 25—who flew in from Arizona to audition and stay with her cousin in DC—is a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals and a dance-team coach. She’ll improvise a jazz/contemporary routine for 15 seconds—the time allotted to each dancer in the initial round—in front of judges Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe. It’s her first time trying out for the show.

Remember "Dancing Derrick", the guy who needed oxygen after his season 3 audition? He was there too. Let's hope he gets no air time this season.

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Danny And Sabra For Capezio

Movmnt Magazine's latest issue includes ads for Capezio Dance featuring Danny Tidwell and Sabra Johnson, taken by outstanding dance photographer Eduardo Patino.


_{Photos courtesy of movmnt magazine}

Karaty: Still Just One Winner

Dan Karaty, who seems to be taking on primary spokesman duties for the show, says there will be no major format changes for season 4 in this Reality TV Magazine interview:

Although some of the longer-running and more popular reality shows are making format changes this year, Karaty speculates that So You Think You Can Dance will stick with its tried-and-true format, which would include keeping with a single winner, despite the hope of some fans that both a male and a female winner would be chosen.

“I think the men and the women both bring something different to the stage. They’re both equally entertaining to watch. We’re looking for America’s Favorite Dancer – it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman.”

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America's Best Dance Crew Media

Randy Jackson recently appeared on Letterman and Conan, primarily hyping American Idol but also mentioning America's Best Dance Crew. Apparently, talk show hosts have trouble grasping the concept of dance crews.


Skip ahead to about the 60 minute mark at this Blogtalk radio show to hear an interview with ABDC judge Shane Sparks. He confirms he's not returning to SYTYCD for season 4, but doesn't rule out the possibility of coming back in future seasons.


JC Chasez talks about judging on the show. He's been taking some heat around the web, but I find his critiques to be fair and constructive.



The talented and original Iconic Crew are profiled in this News Transcript article:

When asked how they came up with the idea for Broadway combined with hiphop, Hubela said he and his sister, Beth, came up with the idea for the first recital at Icon. They had a friend create a modern day remix of the song "One" from "A Chorus Line" with a hip-hop beat and it blew them away. They chose to base their performance for America's Best Dance Crew on that concept because they wanted something that would make them stand out.

"Even though it gave us a label as a Broadway crew, it's OK because that's [part of] what we do," he said.

As good as they are, it's doubtful the first winner of the first hiphop dance show will be anything but pure hiphop.

Electric Boogaloo

Jack and Demi's boogaloo on the Austalian top 20 show has readers discussing the relationship of boogaloo and popping. I found this on Youtube, The History Of Moves In Electric Boogaloo. I don't know that it adds to the discussion, but it's fun to watch.


Poppin' Pete, Skeeter Rabbit, and Claise do the Electric Boogaloo.

Mary Murphy On Rachel Ray Show

Mary judges wedding dancers.


Backstage, Mary talks about season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance, amongst other things. Did you know she was once a body double for Julia Roberts?

Australia SYTYCD News

Keep up with your favorite dancer's blog at the official Ten site.

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The Age has a long article about the show's popularity and it's effect on dance in Australia.

AUSTRALIAN dancers have waited a long time for their own reality TV show. Singers and models have lined up year after year for a shot at instant fame, celebrities and sportspeople have tried to dance, restaurateurs, home renovators, even complete and utter nobodies with no particular skills or talent have been embraced by the reality phenomenon. But dancers, as usual, have been relegated to the background of the light entertainment landscape.

Dancers are used to taking a back seat to other performers — in video clips, at the Australian Idol final, at the Logies. Wherever colour and movement is needed to offset the main action, dancers fill the space. But not any more. Dancers are front and centre of Ten's breakout hit, So You Think You Can Dance Australia.

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The Courier-Mail profiles Jack Chambers.

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Oops. It's a reality show, but somebody was a little too real when one of the eliminations was announced this week. Spoiler alert, if you haven't watched the results show yet.

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Bonnie Lythgoe opens up about some personal matters in a recent Herald-Sun interview. Reality Raver has some thoughts.

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She also has the rules for the So You Think You Can Dance Australia drinking game.

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Top 20 Results Show

In 8 parts.



CLICK TO CONTINUE VIEWING








Thanks to Milotary for uploading.

TV Dance News Roundup

Team Bruno won the first, and hopefully only, season of ABC's Dance War: Bruno vs Carrie Ann. There were some likable performers, but the concept was so poorly thought out, most SYTYCD watchers had no patience for it. There was too much emphasis on weak singing and not enough on dancing. Only one performer, Bradley on Team Carrie Ann, struck me as strong enough to make it in a dance-only environment.


The celebrities participating in the next season of Dancing With The Stars were announced during the Dance War finale. Skater Kristi Yamaguchi has to be the early favorite. Also prohibited from being lifted will be Priscilla Presley, briefly linked romantically with our Uncle Nigel.

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Boston.com profiles Jamal, E-knock, and the Status Quo Crew, currently dancing on America's Best Dance Crew.

Crew member Jamal Weaver, 20, notes the stylistic differences that set Status Quo apart from other Boston dance groups have been magnified in LA, and not always to their benefit in a competition where all the contestants are polished dancers and choreographers, with one team even performing on roller skates.

"We also act, we do skits, we might even do magic tricks," says Weaver. "They realize we're different." Mastering slick dance-video steps? That's not really their thing, concedes Weaver, who has been battling the flu for the past week on top of other pressures.

They're the best showmen in the competition but will have trouble outlasting heavy favorites Jabbawockeez and Kaba Modern.

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Top 20 Performances

UPDATED to complete show, in 12 parts.


JD & Rhiannon Hip-Hop
Choreographed by Manuela Oliveira


Hilton & Courtney Lyrical Jazz
Choreographed by Kelly Akers


Henry & Vanessa Salsa



CLICK TO CONTINUE VIEWING


Sermsah & Camilla Musical Theatre
Choreographed by Adam Williams


Rhys & Jemma Waltz
Choreographed by Jason Gilkison


Anthony & Laura Lyrical Contemporary
Choreographed by Juliette "Jet" Verne


Marko & Steph Jive
Choreographed by Jason Gilkison


Khaly & Kate Contemporary Jazz
Choreographed by Sally Clark


Jack & Demi Boogaloo
Choreographed by Nacho Pop


Graeme & Kassy Lyrical Hip-Hop
Choreographed by Yannus Sufandi




Uploaded by Milotary

Results Show Recap

Reality Raver has the recap for the top 20 results show from Sydney. If you haven't seen the show yet, Spoiler Alert!

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Mr. Melodicus posts an entertaining recap of the previous evening's performance show.

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So You Think You Can Dance Australia - Top 20 Show

Reality Raver recaps the first performance episode of So You Think You Can Dance Australia: UPDATED WITH VIDEO

It was game on as the first show was tonight and it was time to start dancing to be Australia's favorite dancer, oh and the $200,000 first prize wouldn't be bad either.

Tonight we saw how hot the Australian dancers were, they are right up there with the US competitors, however the same cannot be said about choreographers.

Before we get into a recap of the show a couple of comments:

* Natalie Bassingthwaites hair was a cross between Farrah Fawcett, and Crystal Carrington, and NOT in a good way;
* Jason Coleman must have been reading forums and blogs and got his spiky mullet hair cut, and it looked much better;
* The male dancers are stronger then the girls;
* The Sydney Star Observer (Australia's leading gay newspaper) editorial team must be having a meltdown as who are they going to back?; and
* I am struggling to see the role of Matt Lee on the judging panel, he did not add much value tonight he repeatedly said "You did a great job".

It was great to see the Australian version was going to be similar to the original. Same set, same introductory solo dancers, and Natalie even did a Cat Deeley like shimmy as she came onto the set.
However there was no opening group routine, or will we see that tomorrow night?
Natalie was obviously nervous and this was particularly noticeable as she was reading off the autocue, but I expect that she will have mastered this by next week.
First dancers up were Rhiannon the 18 year old from Minto, Sydney, and JD the adopted hip-hop dancer choreographer from Melbourne. This looked like it was going to be a good match.
JD scored big time as their first routine was hip hop. Their choreographer was to be Manuela, who had devised a routine to the song "Kiss, Kiss"...


CLICK TO CONTINUE READING
There appeared to be a bit of friction between her and JD in rehearsal where she said she thought JD was a bit narrow minded.
JD and Rhiannon came out pumped and they danced well, but the choreography lacked pizzazz. Rhiannon if she can get past this round will be a strong contender as she was hot. JD was good but you would expect that as this is his style.
Matt Lee said "What a way to start the show", and "JD you were cool calm and collected".
Bonnie Lythgoe said "As a couple you worked well together" and gave Rhiannon a huge wrap.
Jason Coleman said "Your unison could have been better"
Next were Courtney, the 23 year old dancer from St Kilda, Melbourne and Hilton the 18 year old whose parents are Haitian from Sydney. They danced a jazz lyrical routine. Kelly Aykers choreographed their routine.
This partnership raises the question of will Hilton pull Courtney through, or will Courtney's lesser dancing skills drag Hilton into the bottom three. I would say the former, as I think Hilton is a definite contender to take out the title. I barely noticed Courtney, but the difference in their technique was noticeable.
The theme of their dance of Romeo and Juliette which after the opening few bars I kind of lost that story. Hilton was superb except he flubbed the lifts. The routine was good but not memorable.


Matt Lee said "Courtney you have a high likeability, however your technique will only take you so far in this competition."
Bonnie said "Felt the chemistry between the two" and "Hilton great, however nervous with the lifts"
Jason said "Even though they missed the lift, they got back on the horse" and "Courtney you need to work on your extension."
Vanessa the beautiful ballet dancer from Sydney, who has not danced seriously in three years, and Henry the ballroom dancer, will make a great partnership. Henry could not believe his luck to be dancing salsa in the first week. Luda Kroiter and her salsa partner Oliver were the choreographers. Luda has also been seen on Dancing With the Stars, and danced with comedian Anh Do in the finals.
Henry was outstanding, and was also going for the women who like chest hair vote. He will go a long way in the comp, as will Vanessa as she is just so sweet. However she managed to turn on a sexy sizzle for the salsa, looking very cute in a fluro pink number. Some bits of the routine were not completely smooth but they should avoid a bottom three finish tomorrow.
Matt Lee said "Good job, Vanessa a bit more strength in the upper body needed"
Bonnie said "Henry you helped her tremendously" and "Vanessa don't hold back"
Jason said "There needs to be more plie` and bend" and "Job well done for a ballet dancer"
Camilla the 25 year old from Ipswich, Queensland, and Seramsah the indigenous dancer from Western Australia were to dance a musical theatre number to the Shirley Bassey classic "Hey Big Spender". The choreographer was Adam Williams (for those that care he is Sydney celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey's partner).
Adam thought Seramsah needed to believe in himself more as he is a great dancer.
This routine was sexy, and fun, and if they had nailed the lift it would have been flawless but they stumbled there. One of the papers today said that Sermsah was carrying injuries into Friday nights taping.
Matt Lee said his usual insipid "Great job".
Jason said "Energy needs to be centred to lift"
Next were Jemma an 18 year old ballroom dancer and Rhys a contemporary dancer from Melbourne. This week the Herald Sun were trying to beat up a gasp shock horror story that Rhys performed as a drag queen in Melbourne. Heeeellllllllloooooo anyone would have guessed that when we saw him dance in high heel boots to the Prince song Kiss in the top 100 week.
Rhys has both the technique and personality to win this competition, and he is definitely one of my favorite dancers.
They were to dance the waltz, a dance I always think is a death knell for couples. But the Jason Gilkison choreography was great, and they danced it beautifully. Jemma will be safe for a few weeks because Rhys will see her through a few rounds, however when she has to dance for her life she may be in trouble.
Apparently this was the first time he has danced with a partner, but it was flawless, he almost looked butch as he gazed lovingly at her throughout this romantic dance.
Matt Lee said "Jemma in bare feet you have to make sure your feet are stretched"
Bonnie said "Stunning" and "Rhys did extremely well, likeability factor high"
Jason said " I loved the routine" and "Favourite routine of the night so far"
Next was Laura from Adelaide and Anthony Ikin the gymnast from the Gold Coast. There has been discussion in the papers today about whether he was gay, and he was refusing to discuss the matter. Fair enough it is his business, and all we should care about is his dancing. But after tonight's episode if I was a betting person I would say yes he was.
They were to dance a contemporary lyrical routine by Juliette "Jet" Verne who is a Director at the Urban Dance Centre. It was a girl clinging to a guy who was trying to break up with her.
Juliette said that Anthony tended to over act his emotions, must have been all those aerobic world championships he competed in.
Anthony had no problem with the lift however the whole routine was a bit forgettable.


Matt Lee said "Julia complemented their strengths" and "Laura you did step up tonight, however when you do a layout make sure your leg is straight"
Jason also said a the same" Laura you came up to the mark tonight". The judges obviously don't think she is the strongest dancer in the show.
Stephanie the 18 year old ballroom dancer, and Marko the 22 year old contemporary dancer danced the jive choreographed by Jason Gilkison.
I found Marko a bit of a worry when he said he used to follow everything Michael Jackson did. Hopefully not everything...
In rehearsals Stephanie really struggled but she did well in the performance. However the it was more of a hip hop jive, while they were wearing punk like gear.

Jason Coleman summed it up when he said he did not understand the colleration between the music, the costumes and the dancers. He thought "two danced separately but not together", also "they were hitting the bottom of the beat at different times".
Bonnie said "I loved the costumes" is this the dance equivalent of when you say I loved the cinematography when the film is really crap?
Matt Lee said "Marko one of the best dancers in the competition".
I agree but he lacks personality. This pair will be bottom 3 tomorrow night.
Kate a 29 year old contemporary dancer was matched with hip hop artist Khaly. This guy is our Hok in our competition.
They were to dance a contemporary jazz routine by Sally Clark. It was to a jarring Silverchair number, but they were dressed in 1930's type outfits, and Kate was doll like.
There was a height difference with Khaly shorter then Kate, which made him look like he was being crushed during the lift.
I thought the routine was unremarkable, but both are good dancers, and I hope they both stick around for awhile.
Matt Lee said "Did a good job" and "Kate best female dancer in the competition"
Bonnie said "Khaly didn't have eye contact with her, but understandable considering this style was not what he was used to.
Jason said "Houston we have a problem", "Didn't like the routine" but he did compliment the dancers and said they did a great job with what they were given.
Needless to say Sally Clark probably did not have a drink with him at the after shoot party.
Demi, the 27 year old b-girl from Melbourne, and Jack the dancer from Queensland danced the Boogaloo, which is a funk orientated type dance from the '70s. Nacho Pop choreographed a routine to the Parliament song "Flashlight".
Jack just reminds me of Benji Schwimmer, that similar personality so he could be the dark horse of the competition. Also Jack's sisters were a hoot, can we see more of them?
They danced the routine really well, but I worry that once Demi gets out of her comfort zone she is going crumble.
The routine was fun but it did not hit any great heights, most of the time they were dancing separately around the stage.
Matt Lee said "I felt that funk - so joyous"
Bonnie said "Demi just lovely" and "Jack spot on great"
Jason said "Huge threat in the competition", "Up there in likeability" and "Routine did not reach a crescendo"
In the lucky last spot (my theory you get more votes in this position) were Kassy and Graeme both from Sydney and both trained dancers. They danced a hip hop lyrical number by Yannus Sufandi. He was one of the three stand out choreographers of the night, with Jason Gilkison, and Adam Williams. However I did not see much hip hop in the routine.
Kassy's leopard underpants beneath her petticoat dress should garner the male vote.
Matt Lee thought "Brilliant" and "Kassy stepped up to another level"
Bonnie said "Beautiful routine", "Kassy you weren't cold tonight" and "Danced it well"
Jason said "Graeme you need to work on your feet they were like dead fish hanging on the end of your legs"
Graeme quickly replied "At least I wasn't a salmon" alluding to the girl in the auditions who danced as a salmon.
It was a pretty good show for the first one, and there were certainly some exciting dancers there, however they need to find some good choreographers to add the sparkle this competition needs.
The standout judge was Jason Coleman. Matt Lee, and Bonnie did not add much to critique of the dances.
My prediction for bottom three are JD and Rhiannon, Stephanie and Marko, and Kate and Khaly.
JD and Stephanie to be eliminated.

First Aussie Recap

Blogger Misse at Not Much...You? has the first recap of the first So You Think You Can Dance Australia show.

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