SYTYCD News Roundup

Lory Pounder of Summit Daily News profiles Sweet Dreams choreographer Mandy Moore:

Now, her passion for dance has taken her all over the world and even landed her a choreographer job on the hit television show, “So You Think You Can Dance.”

“L.A. is very much you are only as good as your last job,” explained Mandy who met people with the dance show when she assisted a woman working on “American Idol.”

They called asking her to help with the audition tour after the second season aired, which meant she traveled to cities and taught combinations to the dancers. Then, the first piece she was hired to choreograph for two contestants during the last season’s television competition was a contemporary one.

On the night the piece she choreographed was being performed, she drove up to the studio where the dance show is filmed, parking the same way anyone going to see it would. She got out of her car and walked up to the front of the building. That’s when she saw it — a parking spot marked by a big yellow cone with her name on it. She stopped in her tracks, so excited that she took a picture of it.

“I hope I always continue to stay as inspired and excited,” said Mandy who is also hoping to be back for the next season of “So You Think You Can Dance.”

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Our friend Dancing Fool tips us to a story about Sabra giving back and paying forward:

Last month, the 21-year-old famed dancer from Roy, Utah made a special trip to Nampa, Idaho to put on a workshop for teenage dancers. Johnson taught a variety of dance styles to participants who paid $5, which will be used for scholarships for children who can't afford dance classes. Last month's workshop successfully raised $2,000.

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MC Hammer joins the dance media bandwagon with a new site called DanceJam.com:

The Web site, scheduled to debut in mid-January, will try to upstage YouTube and become the Internet's hub for sharing and watching dance videos. DanceJam then hopes to make money by grabbing a piece of the rapidly growing Internet advertising market, which is expected to rake in $27.5 billion in 2008, according to eMarketer.

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Shauna Noland: Filmmaker

A film by Shauna Noland featuring her friend and student Skyler.

Girl Frenzy At NYCDA

From the Youtube description: A class for all the girls with the power to leave their fear at the door and bring their passion for dance to the floor! This class is taught every weekend at the NYCDA Conventions by some of your favorite ladies!

Sabra, Jaimie, and Allison teach GirlFrenzy

New Year's Eve Performance

Fox's New Year's Eve Live treated the SYTYCD dancers as afterthoughts. They were forced to perform on a tiny, makeshift stage in front of a tinsel backdrop with a fat-guy-in-overalls mannequin visible to the left. It was very odd and felt like it had been slapped together in about 2 minutes, with the production values of a local cable access show. Sabra and Dominic performed Make It Work and Neil did an athletic solo despite not feeling well.

Neil's solo.

Pole Dancing

So You Think You Can Dance Poland has begun airing. Here, Natalia Madejczyk auditions. She's no Shauna Noland, but she's obviously trained and talented. We'll be watching for highlights from the show.

Neil Added To New Years Eve Lineup

Neil Haskell posted to his Myspace blog that he will be joining Cat Deeley for Fox's New Years Eve Live broadcast from Times Square tonight. It was previously announced that fellow SYTYCDers Sabra Johnson, Dominic Sandoval, and Hok Konishi would appear.

Preview Of Dance War

Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann premieres a week from tomorrow. It looks like it could appeal to So You Think You Can Dance watchers, even those who have no patience for Dancing With The Stars. Check out the choreography in this preview video.



Here's an article from TVGrapevine with more info:

While Dance War will have similar elements with Dancing With The Stars, it will not be a copy of it. "It's a companion show" to Dancing, executive producer John Hesling says. "It's not about ballroom. It's singing and dancing. It's very cool stuff, not sequins or taffeta."

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