So You Think You Can Dance... Yup...

Season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance has started?  Oh...  Cool.

The last time I watched a full season of SYTYCD was Season 5 with winner, Jeanine Mason.  From there, I either was too busy with other things in my life to sit down and watch full episodes, or I lost interest.  Actually I do believe it was a little bit of both.  I did keep up with the show to some extent (I'm aware of the winners and major events and such), but as far as watching every single dance routine...  That was something I just couldn't find the time to do anymore.  Honestly, I really don't think I missed much.

When Season 6 came out, it didn't really grab me from the start.  I remember them airing this whole pre-show kind of thing before the actual competition actually started.  It was a nice idea I suppose, since it gave viewers the chance to see the dancers for more than one day before they started cutting them.  In retrospect, it didn't seem so bad.  Why didn't I like this season?...

Oh wait, now I remember.

They added-not one, not two, but three tappers.  Three.  Now, I have nothing against tappers.  In fact I love to tap dance.  The problem was that they didn't go very far.  They weren't that good, and the judges pushed so hard to get them to the Top 20.  It's nice that the producers wanted to showcase a different dance style on the show, but being a well-rounded dancer is a big part of being a contestant on SYTYCD.  The tappers just weren't up to par, and were a waste of space, in my opinion.  That being said; I had no problem with the winner of that season.  Oh wait.. I did...

Krumper, Russel (right) was great, but how could America NOT CHOOSE JAKOB??? (left)  I'll leave it up to you to go find YouTube videos to compare the two...

Season 7 was something I can honestly say that I did not watch at all.  I don't think I was quite down with the "Top 10..oh wait, no!  Top 11 dance show, where the contestants dance with past winners."  Did Fox not have time to air a complete season?  Besides all that shady business, I don't think this season was that bad.  In fact, it might have been better than the previous (I am speaking from a glance, here).  I watched a few of the dance routines from this season on YouTube, and they were pretty darn great.  The Alex Wong/Twitch hip-hop routine will alway and forever be a fan favorite, I'm sure.  Once again, I can't complain about the winner. Actually...  Um...  Damn...  Why can't there ever be ties on this show?!

Runner up Kent Boyd (left) alongside Season 7 winner, Lauren Froderman (right).

And now on to Season 8-the current season.  I've decided that since it's summer, I'm not in school, and I have little to nothing to do for two months, I might as well sit down and watch this season all the way through. Also Fox has FINALLY made a good choice and put full episodes on their website, so I can watch anything that I missed.  (No, I don't have a DVR... I still live in 2000.)

Season 8 looks promising to me.  I watched one audition episode, and the talent was all there.  I skipped all that Vegas-process-stuff and missed the first Top 20 episode, but I did see the Results Show last night.

SPOILERS:



The reason I honestly believe this season will not disappoint is because no one got eliminated.  This isn't anything new, but I totally agreed with the judges' decision this time.  While watching the dancers who where in the "bottom" do their solos, I really could not pick out a bad dancer.  Everyone "brought it" and laid out everything they had on the table, which is very surprising, seeing as this is only the first week of the competition.  Good for them!  The downside, is that two couples have to be eliminated next week.  Thus, next week's show should be intense!

We, we, we so excited...

As far as having a favorite dancer... It's too early in the competition to pick one.  I really want to like Ashley Rich, but A: I haven't seen much of her yet, and B: I can't quite figure out her personality.  If she has a big ego, I'll drop her like a hotcake.

Anywho!  Can't wait to watch the next episode!

KEEP DANCING, FOLKS!

 

Take a Look: Amazing Dance Animation

This video has probably been floating through the interwebs for a while now, but just in case you haven't seen it yet, here it is.  I can honestly say this is one of the best works of animation that I have seen.  It may not be filled in, and it may look like a rough draft, but that's what makes it beautiful to me.  The artist, Ryan Woodward, perfectly captures all the delicate movements of a dancer.  At some points in the video, his animation almost feels like you are watching two very real bodies.  Just watch it and see for yourself.  The man is brilliant.

Woodward also got the chance to have his art featured as a "Google Doodle" for the birthday of Martha Graham.  It's just as beautiful:

If you want to see the "making of" video of the "Thought of You" animation you can watch it here.  I think the thing that I appreciate most from this guy is that he was so interested in contemporary dance (my favorite dance style, by the way) that he took the time to carefully capture all the elements of a dance and the dancers...and he doesn't even dance!  He even collaborated with actual dancers and choreographers.  That's dedication!  Not only does he do a marvelous job of capturing dance; his work also tells a story.  I can dig it.

Applause to you, Mr. Woodward.  Applause.

And....I'm Back.

No..seriously. For real this time guys.

That's right! I'm out of school (until September) which means I have plenty of time for blogging. HOO-RAY! ..........

"Good grief, Liz"

Believe me, dammit!

I always say to myself that I'm going to start blogging seriously, but it never quite works out. So, here's what I'm going to do...

I'm not going to make a day job out of blogging. I'm just going to do it for pure fun. I will just post whenever I feel like it. Of course it won't be everyday, but I'll do my best to make posts at least once or twice a week. I have a lot of inspiration in front of me, so I'm super excited to get started again.

As expected, I will be posting dance-related information, thoughts, reviews, news, etc. on this blog. ARE YOU READY?

'Cuz I'm soooo ready...

*puts on sunglasses and turns on music by The Who*