Hooray! So You Think You Can Dance auditions are over and the actual competition has begun. This week the Top 20 danced in pairs, in their favored dance style, to compete for a role in Broadway's On the Town and the title of America's Favorite Dancer.
Singer/dancer Jason Derulo joined Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe on the judging panel. While his comments were not as in depth as some of the dancers and choreographers who judge (i.e. Adam Shankman, Twitch, Kenny Ortega, Debbie Allen), he took the process seriously and offered thoughtful critiques.
The performances included:
Brooklyn and Serge - Cha Cha choreographed by Dimitry Chaplin, performed to "Hell Yeah" (Midnight). Serge stood out in this number (and not just because he was sweating profusely!). Brooklyn did not come off as strongly as he did.
Emily and Casey - Contemporary choreographed by Travis Wall, performed to "All of Me" (John Legend). Emily and Casey performed a dance about a couple arguing. Emily's extensions were lovely! I had forgotten how charming Casey is.
Valerie and Zak - Tap Dance choreographed by Anthony Morgierato, performed to "Sing" (Ed Sheeran). Valerie and Zack did an ambitious number involving a staircase. It did not have the speed and lightness that I like in tap, but it was a fun number. Loved Valerie's red tap shoes!
Bridget and Stanley - Contemporary choreographed by Bonnie Story, performed to "Doesn't Mean Goodbye" by Jon McLaughlin. Stanley has star power - love his presence on stage. He had great elevation with his leaps.
Jacque and Jourdan - Ballet choreographed by Marat Daukayev, performed to "Pas de Deux - Black Swan" (Tchaikovsky). The girls were both dressed in black. They look very much alike, and neither really stood out in this number. Their synchronicity was off a bit at the end.
Malena and Marcquet - Brazilian Samba choreographed by Louis Van Amstel, performed to "Morning Drums" (Gregor Salto). Loved everything about this performance. Samba rolls! Marcquet is a star!
Carly and Rudy - Contemporary choreographed by Stacy Tookey, performed to "Take It Easy" (Jetta). Rudy's goofy personality in the pre-dance interview is charming. He does not have the technical skill of some of the other dancers.
Emilio and Teddy - Hip Hop choreographed by Christopher Scott, performed to "Nightshift" (The Commodores). The lyrical hip hop number was about a janitor and security guard dancing after hours. It was fun! Emilio has a great personality on stage.
Jessica and Ricky (pictured above) - Contemporary choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, performed to "Vow" (Meredith Monk). I think Ricky is the dancer to beat this season. This number was amazing! I loved the move where he carried Jessica on her back, while she was in full standing position. Nigel said that this dance was "another level entirely," and I agree completely.
Tanisha and Nick - Cha Cha choreographed by Louis Van Amstel, performed to "I'm a Freak" (Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull). Fun number but not as dynamic as the other Cha Cha by Malena and Marcquet.
Two dancers will be eliminated next week. Who is in danger? There are a lot of contemporary girls, and I think they sort of run together. I also believe that the two ballet dancers will cancel each other out with votes, probably sooner than later. I think we may see the following dancers in the bottom three:
Brooklyn
Emily
Jourdan
Serge
Teddy
Nick
I'm looking forward to next week's show already! Did you watch SYTYCD last night? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, below.
20 Feet From Stardom is one of my favorite movies from recent years. This 2013 Academy Award winner (Best Documentary) goes behind the scenes with some notable background singers including Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, and more. These women sang backup on some iconic songs, but their names and faces are not well-known. You'll meet them in this movie, and also hear from singers including Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Bette Midler, and more.
The movie has some fascinating footage of 1950's background singers, who were often called "readers" because they had a great skill at reading music and hitting the notes pitch perfect. As the 1960's brought rock, pop, and soul music, background singing changed to a free form art, with more interpretation by the singers.
The heart of the movie is Darlene Love, who found success as a backup singer working with Phil Spector. Her experiences working with him, and the trajectory of her career (both highs and lows) are chronicled here. Spector manipulated her, using her voice on songs by the girl group The Crystals (a group she did not belong to), while promising her that the songs she recorded would be promoted under her name. She did have a 1960's hit with "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)."
You will also meet Merry Clayton, who had a last minute, late night call to do backups for the Rolling Stones. She left the house in her nightgown and a mink coat to record the memorable background vocals on "Gimme Shelter."
Some of the women profiled in this movie tried a solo career and returned to background singing. Some of them love background singing and harmonizing. They are all passionate about music, with great stories and songs.
If you love music, especially 1960's and 1970's, you will find this movie fascinating. It is the rare film that I finished with the immediate thought: "I am looking forward to seeing this again."
If you've seen 20 Feet from Stardom, I would love to hear what you thought of it in the comments below.
For your listening pleasure: Darlene Love sings "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on The David Letterman Show (2013):
I've blogged for several years. I started blogging to promote Birdhouse Books, my online business (vintage children's books and cards). That was well and good, but over time I wanted something more.
I began 2014 writing a more varied blog, including Music Monday and Friday Faves, as well as occasional book reviews, movie reviews, giveaways, and general chat. It is so much more fun! I love having a blog without limits and being free to write about a variety of topics here.
I've loved writing since I was a little girl. My first story was in first grade. I kept a diary starting in elementary school, and later a journal with longer entries. In high school I discovered poetry, and copied favorite poems from the library into spiral notebooks, writing my own poems as well.
College was all about creative writing for me; my degree was English: Creative Writing with a focus in poetry. I loved everything about it, especially the focus on words and writing.
I wrote for years after college, followed by a few years where I shockingly did not write at all. I did not feel like myself when I wasn't writing. I started a challenge to write a poem a day in 2010 and have kept that up. At this point my daily journal is basically poem after poem. I enjoy it so much and look forward to writing each evening. I believe this practice has changed my life.
My work involves finding books, researching them, and writing descriptions. I enjoy writing in this small daily way, but blogging gives me the opportunity to do something a little different and more -- actually communicating about things that I enjoy. I love getting comments here and chatting back and forth with readers. It makes my day!
In short: I blog because I love to write.
"Be Near Me" by ABC always reminds me of my college years. It is basically a song about yearning, and it is really lovely. This was the second release from British band ABC's 1985 album How to be a ... Zillionaire! Listen to this video from the show Solid Gold and travel back to the 1980's with me ...
My first Friday Fave this week is an amazing iPad app, available at iTunes: NYPL Biblion: World's Fair. This free app is all about the 1939 New York World's Fair. The app was constructed by the New York Public Library and it is beautifully done. History, art, architecture, popular culture -- it is all here. I have just started playing with this app and enjoy it so much. I hope you do, too! (Pictured above: the Futurama exhibit from the 1939 New York World's Fair.)
My second fave (and new discovery here): Edy's Outshine Fruit Bars. They are all natural frozen fruit juice bars and absolutely delicious. Perfect for a summer snack! It's been so hot and humid here this summer. I am craving a grape juice Fruit Bar right now. :-)
Wishing you a fun weekend!
