So You Think You Can Dance offered a wealth of talent in the Chicago and Los Angeles auditions this week.
We started the night in Chicago. The guest judge was Fabrice Calmels from the Joffrey Ballet. My, he's handsome (and a charming, articulate judge as well).
Highlights from the Chicago auditions included:
The Puppet, Paul Brushaber. The Puppet is an animator, and his dancing was really unique. He really did look like a puppet on stage.
Franchesa Bass. Franchesa is a contemporary dancer who has Alopecia. Her dance had an otherworldly, alien quality, and was very unique.
Janna Scaccia. Janna is a ballet dancer and she is a trainee at the Joffrey. She idolizes Fabrice. I love ballet and am always delighted to see ballet dancers on the show.
The show then moved to Los Angeles. The guest judge was Christina Applegate. She and Jesse Tyler Ferguson are my favorite celebrity judges. Christina is always bright and funny, and seems to have a lot of heart.
Los Angeles offered some strong moments including:
Jessica Richens dancing to a jazzy "This is a Man's World." I liked her dance better when I first watched it. After some thought, I think she had a bit too much hairography and attitude to supplement the actual dancing.
Valerie Rockey tapping to "I'm Movin' On." I love tap! She seemed to really take joy in dancing. She went to choreography, but got a ticket to Hollywood there.
Kyle Taylor, a 28 year old mechanic from Wichita, Kansas, is a popper. He danced and had a dance off with visiting SYTYCD alumni Fik-Shun, Cyrus, and Legacy. Kyle is untrained, but loves to dance. The dance off was a great moment. He moved on to choreography, but bowed out after trying to partner there.
Deise and Mauricio are ballet dancers in love. They danced a lovely number together. Deise is particularly strong, and was the focal point of the dance.
Hailee Payne is a jazz/funk dancer. She looks a lot like Miley Cyrus, with short punk blonde hair. She is a good dancer but I think her very big personality may wear thin over the course of the show, if she continues on.
Sebastian Serra is a returning auditioner. He is a ballet dancer with big, bold moves. I loved seeing him travel the stage as he danced.
Dani Platz is a contemporary dancer. She has struggled with an eating disorder, and danced a number full of emotion that moved Mary and Christina. Mary Murphy commented that dance is "like oxygen for the soul." Dani moved on to choreography and got a ticket to Hollywood.
The final dancer for the night was Marie Poppins (pictured above). She is a popper from France. She did an elegant and rather lyrical dance to one of my favorite songs, "Smooth Operator" by Sade. As she danced out toward the judges, Fik-Shun got up and joined her and they did an impromptu dance together on stage. This was definitely the highlight of the show to me -- great fun!
Did you watch SYTYCD last night? Do you have any favorites from the night? I would love to read your comments, below.
I love, love, love vintage postcards! I have a small collection of vintage dachshund postcards, and also a few postcards from favorite family vacation destinations from my childhood.
Vintage postcards are fun to collect, to frame, to save in a decorative box, or to give for a unique, thoughtful gift (framed or tucked into a special greeting card).
This love of vintage postcards led me to open a postcard department in my store, Birdhouse Books. I have cards featuring dogs, cats, Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, and lots of Roadside Americana (motels, restaurants, stores, amusement parks). The postcard above features a swimming pool at the Carriage House Resort motel in Deerfield Beach, Florida. This looks exactly like motels I remember staying at during my childhood!
I'm hosting a vintage postcard giveaway on my blog. It's easy to enter with the Rafflecopter form below. The contest will end on Tuesday, June 10, at 11:59 PM. On Wednesday, June 11 I will use Rafflecopter to randomly draw a winner. The winner will receive a vintage postcard valued under $10 from my shop. (Winner selects their favorite postcard in this range.) You'll see all the great cards in this price range here: vintage postcards at Birdhouse Books.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
It's Music Monday! My song this week is "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac (1975). Stevie Nicks wrote this song when she was trying to decide whether to stay with the group or go back to school. I love the music and the lyrics, and it has been stuck in my head for the last day or two. Good songs have a way of doing that! By the way, I love the later covers of this song by the Dixie Chicks and the version performed on Glee (Naya Rivera) -- but nothing compares to the original for me.
My beloved dachshund, Barney Fife, is 17 years old today! I adopted him from a dachshund rescue group when he was 1. He has been a delight from the very start - sweet, loving, and "practically perfect in every way" (to borrow a turn of phrase from Mary Poppins). He is having a fun day with lots of extra attention!
Happy Friday!
It is already hot and feels very much like Summer in Atlanta. In this weather, I especially love iced tea. I'm from the south, and tea is my drink of choice. In all but the coldest weather, I have a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge.
My "everyday" iced tea is Lipton Cold Brew. It is light and tastes great unsweetened. I make it by the gallon. It's easy to make: brew tea 5 minutes in cold water, and then refrigerate. It reminds me a lot of sun tea.
Every month or so, though, I want the real thing -- old fashioned southern sweet tea. It's so easy to make:
3 regular tea bags (not family size!)
1/2 cup sugar
boiling water
2 quart pitcher
Just put the tea bags in boiling water in a 2 quarter pitcher. Let it brew for 5 minutes. Immediately stir in the 1/2 cup sugar. Let it cool in the fridge.
This makes perfect, not-too-strong, sweet tea that is not syrupy sweet. This is how we made it when I was growing up, and I still love it best this way.
Wishing you a great weekend -- with time for a good book and a glass of iced tea!
