SYTYCD taping

I love living in So Cal and having periodic opportunities to attend show tapings up in LA. Last night I attended the taping of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) for the performance show that will air tonight.

Below is what you might call a "spoiler" with notes from the show. Heck, no one will care from the show - ANY publicity is good publicity, I'm sure!

Interesting – I think it may be better on TV – seeing the dancers from multiple angles, etc. It was clear to me that the most of the judges comments have been “pre scripted” – it all happened SO fast, no way that they could pick out the minute details that they do and articulate their feedback it in an organized way that quickly.

Some specifics about the dances and judge’s comments:

Janette and Brandon — Latin – They opened the show, she wore a hot pink sparkly thing. I thought he/Brandon was amazing. He seems bigger, stockier, more muscular on TV than in person. Mia FINALLY fessed up that she has changed her mind about Brandon and that she’s only the hardest on those she expects the most from. Mary put them in “First Class” on the Hot Tamale train.

Kayla and Kupono — Contemporary – their number was based on a vampire theme – she was resisting death, he was dragging her toward it. Costuming and makeup for Kayla were GREAT. She was really, really good. Very strong technique (look at her leg positions and toes on the lifts!), very good emotional connection with the dance. Judges also LOVED this one.

Caitlin and Jason — this was some sort of jazz/contemporary dance, where she was an alien and she was trying to “dominate him” and get him (an earthling) to impregnate her. VERY weird and mixed reactions from the judges. I don’t think she pulled it off very well, wasn’t really that believable. Caitlin wore a skin tight black rubbery number with all sorts of silver spikes and ribbons on it. Judges said the costume was distracting. Nigel called it a big condom (don’t know if this will make the editing cut!) and then some humor ensued from there...

Randi and Evan— Broadway by Joey Dowling – they did a number with table and chairs as props. Judges said that she was good, but said Evan should have been even better since this is his specialty. Candidly, that’s not what I thought at all! I thought he was fine and she was so-so. I think they missed one lift, though judges didn’t comment on it. I think she looked weak in terms of energy level, lines, leg positioning, etc. Mia said it/she looked “heavy” – so here’s my catty comment… she does look heavy/thick in person, stocky build, it’s not just the TV that adds 10 pounds! I'm not one to talk (about being heavy), but then I'm not on TV!

Jeanine and Phillip — Hip Hop by Napoleon and Tabitha – this number had a chain as a prop – they were shackled together by about an 8-foot chain during the whole dance. I liked it, Nigel and Mary gave it good reviews. Mia complimented the choreographers at first but then proceeded to rip the routine apart, saying that the chain was distracting rather than enhancing the routine.

Melissa and Ade — Pas de deux – One of my favorite and judges’ favorite dances of the evening, it was a ballet from Romeo and Juliet. Melissa was “en pointe” (she also wore the pointe shoes in the opening dance “snippet”). She got to show off, really (almost seems unfair), and Ade did a good job. Judges all sorts of proud of themselves for putting classical ballet in primetime…

Karla and Vitolio — Quickstep – This one closed the show. Vitolio started out as a statue on a podium and somehow she brought him to life. But the thing to watch out for is her “quick change” during the dance. You’ve seen those magic routines, where the woman (or couple) gets under a sheet or behind a wall for just a second and comes out in a new outfit?!? Well Karla does this mid-dance and now we can all see how it really works!!! Judges gave both dancers good reviews – said Vitolio has been inconsistent but was good tonight…

During one segment, the show is also introducing a new charitable foundation related to dance. They announced that their 100th episode will be airing in July. As part of this celebration, Katie Holmes (who helped start the foundation) will be dancing/performing as part of the show.

And lastly, other notes:

Debbie from Idol is also the stage manager for this show. During a break, I asked about how she’s recovering from her injury. They told the story and she showed us her scar. I talked to her 1:1 later and got to see it up close – it’s a monster “T” shaped thing, over 100 stitches, healing up nicely. She was totally cool…

I watched the judges during the first performance and couldn’t figure out why they weren’t even watching the dancers – ends up they have two monitors built into their table, so they alternate between watching the dancers “live” and on the monitor. I will say, that during the Romeo and Juliet ballet – they watched the stage the whole time, very attentive to this one!

And Cat is “all that.” Tonight she wears a fuchsia number with a studded dark brown belt and matching shoes.

Mary’s drink was only refilled once during the show, I couldn’t tell what she was drinking, though.

Nigel was totally nice and cool. I was standing right by the judge’s table and got to talk with him during several of the breaks. He has a missing disk (sounded like surgery) in his back/shoulder, was having pain with it… he was doing some stretching/arm exercises during a break, had the stage guys get him some aspirin.

Watch for me on TV!!!