Season 9 - So You Think You Can Dance

[LovinDaHaley]

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Season 9! You know what that means? Yup, another link back to Interesting Facts about Haley Reinhart and The Number Nine

IMHO - The 3 Best Performances of the Season (so far)

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Hampton Williams, "Exorcist Style" | If this doesn't prick your heart, you may not have one.

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Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer | Multi-talented Animation Popper. Great Heart! Amazing Routine!

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Lindsay Arnold and Cole Horibe | Amazing Paso Doble. Incredible Performance by Both.

[LovinDaHaley]

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[LovinDaHaley]

Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer - Dances for His Life

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Eliana Girard - Contemporary - Awesome Audition

[LovinDaHaley]

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SYTYCD 2012 Episode 8- Top 20 Group Number (Smoking Hot!)

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SYTYCD 2012 Episode 9 - Top 16 Group Number (Very Cool!)

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[LovinDaHaley]

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Episode 10 - Four more dancers cut and we're down to ten now. I just watched last Wednesday's episode and it was a real treat (the show had been on hold two weeks prior due to the Olympics). We're down to ten dancers now who are all excellent in their own right (five boys and five girls). They're having two winners this year, one boy and one girl, and I still haven't decided which two I like best, but so far I agree with America and the judges on who's still in it. Here's my two favorite numbers from last Wednesday's show:

SYTYCD - S09E10 - Eliana and Cyrus

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SYTYCD - S09E10 - Lindsay and Cole

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[My Alter Ego]

LDH, I agree that Eliana and Cole are superb (and, in that, Cole surprises me). And that Lindsay has been quite a surprise in how well she's has come to grasp the idea of becoming the character (even if imperfectly), as opposed to dancing to/for the audience (which her ballroom dance background has trained her to do). Witney and Cheon are amazing as well. And I really like George's technique and hope that his run is long. And I loved what I saw from Will and Amelia; and the more I saw of Will's ability, the more impressed I was with him, rather than Amelia.

But Cyrus?? As sweet and positive a force that he is, that he has lasted as long as he has is a re-run of Scottie McCreery beating Haley: it's not about the talent/ability; it's about popularity. And where that makes me angry in music, in the the case of what these dancers have gone through to get at the level where they at to make the top 20 -- or now 10 (that everyone but Cyrus has gone through), just makes me nothing but physically ill (with AI, technique isn't nearly as important as it is with dance).

And while I generally love an underdog coming out on top, if that happens here, then my pretty negative attitude will go further south.

[LovinDaHaley]

... But Cyrus?? As sweet and positive a force that he is, that he has lasted as long as he has is a re-run of Scottie McCreery beating Haley

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Thrilled to see you here MAE Agreed, almost verbatim. (we may differ a sliver on Cyrus ).

I seriously doubt Cyrus will win. He's just not as "all around" as the others and he looks clumsy in so much of the choreography. But he really is awesome in his genre; and IMHO, "sweet and positive force" should never be underrated. And OMG, what an incredibly rare honorable character- The heart of a champion!

Just curious MAE, have you watched the Cyrus solos from above closely? Have you "beheld" them? If not, I think you're in for a surprise- The boy has a deep and wide skillset, some wicked-ass-talent and amazing artistic impression (just not in the same way as the others, but perhaps even richer in breadth).

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[My Alter Ego]

Thrilled to see you here MAE Agreed, almost verbatim. (we may differ a sliver on Cyrus ).

I seriously doubt Cyrus will win. He's just not as "all around" as the others and he looks clumsy in so much of the choreography. But he really is awesome in his genre; and IMHO, "sweet and positive force" should never be underrated. And OMG, what an incredibly rare honorable character- The heart of a champion!

Just curious MAE, have you watched the Cyrus solos from above closely? Have you "beheld" them? If not, I think you're in for a surprise- The boy has a deep and wide skillset, some wicked-ass-talent and amazing artistic impression (just not in the same way as the others, but perhaps even richer in breadth).

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LDH, I have watched those solo vids of Cyrus that you posted above. Yes, his ability to isolate his muscles/action so that it's like it's like watching a scene by riffling through a series of cards or some mechnical device is absolutely astonishing. But my question to you (and others) would be: as fascinating as this mechanistic movement can be to watch, why is this truly considered "dancing?"

And, yes, I agree that he's an extraordinarily honorable guy (on top of the "sweet and positive force" that I've already mentioned). So let's give him the "Mister Congeniality" award and have released him 3 weeks ago.

Several far, far better dancers have already been cut, and he has yet to be the bottom 3 or 4 or 2 (or whatever number SYTYCD has chosen for the week). I not happy about that and it kind of scares me.

If, instead of the judges letting him through to the top 20, they had said something to the effect of "wow, you show a lot of promise -- take a year to take a variety of dance classes to strengthen what you already have and come back next year" -- I'd be completely on board. As much as Matthew was so full of himself and, TBH, I'm not really unhappy to see him gone, he was a far better dancer than Cyrus.

But, unless Cyrus is out tomorrow night (which seems unlikely at this point), all I can see/say is that the voting on SYTYCD is equally as bad/skewed/screwed up as it is on AI. And that ain't good!

[LovinDaHaley]

LDH, I have watched those solo vids of Cyrus that you posted above. Yes, his ability to isolate his muscles/action so that it's like it's like watching a scene by riffling through a series of cards or some mechnical device is absolutely astonishing. But my question to you (and others) would be: as fascinating as this mechanistic movement can be to watch, why is this truly considered "dancing?"

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Are you talking figuratively MAE? Or is that really all you see, "this mechanistic movement"?

Why is this considered dancing? Maybe we should start off with a closer examination of what dancing is.

I don't consider Wikipedia to be, "Thus sayeth The Lord", but they do have a nice, somewhat short and to the point blurb on dance:

"Dance is a type of art that generally involves movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, performed in many different cultures and used as a form of expression, social interaction and exercise or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.

Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans, and is also performed by other animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance). Gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are sports that incorporate dance, while martial arts kata are often compared to dances. Motion in ordinarily inanimate objects may also be described as dances (the leaves danced in the wind).

Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many Asian dances. Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story.

Dancing has evolved many styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip hop culture. African dance is interpretative. Ballet, Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance while Square Dance and the Electric Slide are forms of step dances.

Every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It not only involves flexibility and body movement, but also physics. If the proper physics are not taken into consideration, injuries may occur.

Choreography is the art of creating dances. The person who creates (i.e., choreographs) a dance is known as the choreographer."

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Did that answer your question of why the Cyrus mech thing is considered dancing?

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As for what I think about Cyrus, there are so many layers to what he does in all of his dancing, especially in his own material, much more than simply impressive "mechanistic movement". I see genius choreography, awesome timing and rhythm, fascinating stories, great interpretation, powerful conveyance of emotion, and very rich entertainment value. I love, enjoy and respect Cyrus for his talent and what he does with it, not for his personality (although I do like his personality too).

And Grant it MAE, I agree with you, compared to some of the people who've been cut, Cyrus doesn't do as well with the various styles of traditional mainstream dance; However, make no mistake about it, he's still in it for a far greater variety of reasons than just congeniality (although I do also agree that he wouldn't still be in it without that factor being as strong for him as it is. But hells-bells MAE, all of the contestants better have some congeniality in this type of competition if they're going to make it very far, and especially a Cyrus type dancer.).

I have no worries about the cuts getting too ridiculous according to how I see it all, but I would imagine Cyrus makes it through another week or two. But whatever- The show is what it is and I take as such and still enjoy it immensely.

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[My Alter Ego]

^^LDH, I think we're going to have to agree that we disagree here (oops -- a non-twin moment; however, you're the one convinced that we're cosmic twins in a parallel universe).

While, when applying the definition/description of dance from Wikipedia, to what Cyrus does then, yes, technically it would fall under the "definition" of dance, but that doesn't mean that it falls within my definition of dancing (and, yes, now that I'm of the age I am, I do get to do such crochety things ).

Let me again emphasize that I think Cyrus is so sweet, and has shown a great deal of heart and character during this process, but still... The week before the Olympics, Eliana was in the bottom 3 and Cyrus wasn't? What the frak? (I happen to love the word "frak" thanks to Michael Slezak.) Figuratively, Eliana carries Cyrus through every performance, and she was in the bottom 3? Are SYTYCD voters dyslexic? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way.)

Again, while I am awed by the ability to isolate each muscle in order to accomplish the style of "dance" (and I do use that term exceedingly loosely) that Cyrus does, it neither holds my attention, nor does it come close to touching/moving me.