<p>So I don’t think anyone has started this season’s thread yet. Not sure I am wild about the new format bringing back past stars to dance with this year’s contestants. It took time for the stars to develop when they were competing and the new ones will be compared with them right off the bat. Will people be voting for the contestant or their star partner? </p>
<p>It also looks like the contemporary dancers are taking over the show. I liked it when the people who had other dance styles were more of the show. A tap, a latin and a street. I think the rest are contemporary.</p>
<p>Don’t forget about the fantastic ballet guy from Miami! I don’t think I like the new format either. I’m already thinking the young female crowd is going to love the farm guy from Ohio.</p>
<p>Singersmom97, I agree with you completely. Way too many contemporary dancers (though I see some are calling themselves “lyrical” dancers, not that I’ve ever been able to distinguish the two genres), plus I hate to see this show turned onto Dancing with the (All)Stars. I’ll also miss having Mary Murphy as a judge–she gets on a lot of peoples’ nerves, but I always found her comments thoughtful and sincere and her goofiness rather entertaining. Mia Michaels is such a drama queen and always makes everything about HER, plus she likes to pick one dancer to hate on and make miserable each season for no particular reason–I’m predicting it’ll be the amazing Alex Wong this time.</p>
<p>MommaJ, I agree with you about Mia Michaels. I can’t stand her and was happy last season that she wasn’t around. I do love Adam Shankman, though. I’m glad to see him back.</p>
<p>Can’t believe that they cut Anthony Burrell, the guy with the hamstring injury. I really wanted to see him make it. The Ohio farm kid is good but not on Anthony’s level. It broke my heart when Mia gave Anthony the bad news…</p>
<p>^^^That’s part of why I don’t like the new format. There were good dancers left out by only taking 10. And how did they decide to make an exception for Billy Bell? Either you’re good enough for the top 10 or you aren’t.</p>
<p>Yes, Im curious about the new format, but will reserve judgment for a few weeks. I loved the intro dance GREAT choreography. I have always had 2 complaints about SYTYCD. I wish the audience wasnt the sole determining factor for who stays and who goes. I like the DWTS system (½ judges and ½ audience) better. All too often the audience votes for who they like …making it more about personality versus dancing/performing. 2nd complaint - is how well a dancer performs is contingent on who and what was choreographed for them that particular week. I felt badly for the Alex and Billy, having to perform Mias strange choreography.</p>
<p>It’s humbling to see how many phenomenal dancers are out there. And think of the ones who just don’t audition every season. I hope they can all find careers! They clearly love it so much.</p>
<p>I agree on the lack of love for contemporary. It just seems so limited compared to ballet and to other varieties of modern. Every piece looks just like the one before - if it wasn’t for the costumes I could never remember them separately - and I still usually can’t. Also on the lack of love for Mia - she is dreadful.</p>
<p>Can someone tell me exactly what lyrical is? Some studios around here offer separate classes in it, though they aren’t usually the most respected studios. Someone told me it’s when the choreography is a literal expression of the lyrics? I always thought it just meant a particularly flowy style.</p>
<p>Frazzle, lyrical is a form of jazz which as you said is choreographed as a literal expression of the lyrics. At most jazz competitions there is a category for lyrical; that seems to attract the young dancer who has not had a lot of formal classical training. Rarely will the traditional ballet studio offer anything other than classical jazz classes, and only after the dancer has had several years of classical dance technique.</p>
<p>Yes! That was one of the two big injustices. Did they think they could only have one Powerful Black Guy?</p>
<p>I also think Ryan (the blonde girl who has worked with Mia) should have made it instead of Salsa Girl. I know that they want different styles of dance represented, but I thought Ryan was so much better than Salsa Girl.</p>
<p>Yeah, I love the Miama ballet guy - is his mame Alex Hong? Will the voters embrace an Asian guy? (I’ve wondered why there aren’t more Asian movie stars…) I wonder how he’ll do when he gets some cheesy Broadway number, since the judges have otld him he doesn’t smile.</p>
<p>D had seen Ida at local conventions and competitions. Wonder where she’s going to college?</p>
<p>Missy, I hope the reason they cut Anthony was because they feared his injury would re-surface while filming the show. I must confess I am already bias in favor of Alex…… I love his classical line and flawless technique.</p>
<p>Re: Anthony Burrell–remember how much he was crying after his last performance? He said he was in so much pain–those were not tears of joy. He likely has a severe injury, and might not have physically been able to handle the stress of the season. I believe they did him a favor, since continuing on could have damaged him beyond recovery.</p>
Thanks, TutuTaxi! My d has taken a number of choreography classes as a dance minor and tells me that they’re constantly cautioned against being lyrical - now I know what that means. :)</p>
<p>I believe I read that Ida is a Presidential Scholar? Wonder if she’ll pursue college before a dance career?</p>
<p>I’m also confused about the new format; I don’t want SYTYD to become another version of “Dancing with the Stars”. Why change something that wasn’t broken (if it’s shown in the summer, that is)? And it’s not “All Stars” without Danny! I hope it’s because he’s working! (Actually, how can it be “all stars” without the previous seasons’ winners?)</p>
<p>And if they could take 6 boys, why not 6 girls and let Ryan in, too?</p>
<p>^^^ Yes, Danny is my all time SYTYCD favorite and I still think he should have won over Sabra in season threes competition. I agree, why not take Ryan - even with the new format, they could add in one more past star and have a double elimination during one week of the show. They may have sacrificed Ryan because of her previous relationship with Mia Michaels. I think Mia is going to have a bigger role in the judging this season.</p>
<p>Another Danny Tidwell fan here. I saw the tour that season and had excellent seats–Danny was even more stunning in person. Alex looks to be in a similar league, but he doesn’t have the elegant physique (and face) that Danny had, so he’s not as compelling to watch. </p>
<p>One quibble I have with the show is having the choreographers constantly come up with new material. I don’t know a thing about the field, but I suspect a truly great piece of choreography takes a lot of time to create, just like a great piece of music. There’s a lot of mediocre numbers on the show–I’d rather see some of the memorable dances from prior seasons reprised. Imagine if the American Idol singers were given newly composed songs to sing every week!</p>
<p>TutuTaxi, Mia is a permanent judge now, replacing Mary–sorry to say we’ll be seeing her constantly.</p>
<p>^^^^ totally agree about the choreography which goes to my 2nd complaint about the show - how well a dancer performs is contingent on who and what was choreographed for them that particular week. Some of the choreographers will set their piece to encompass or even highlight the dancers strength while others are far less concern about the dancers style or technical ability.</p>
<p>MommaJ - totally jealous … would love to see the show live.</p>
<p>She was one of the ones I was really looking forward to watching. I’m sorry she couldn’t continue but I guess I can’t blame her, especially if there was a monetary scholarship involved, which wasn’t really made clear.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting that, Patsmom. What a shame they edited and presented Ida’s situation as she just did not like being criticized so she quit. She was breathtaking in her style.</p>
<p>As for the others here who don’t like Mia…I could NOT disagree more strongly!!! Mia’s choreography is (IMO) innovative and wonderful and she is one of the most passionate dance artists I have ever known. Years ago, when my daughter was doing competitive dance at “conventions”, Mia was an instructor. My d got to dance in Mia’s class and meet her and then at the close of the convention, the entire faculty performed. Mia Michaels literally brought us all to tears with her dancing…so emotional and passionate. it was an experience I will never forget.</p>
<p>I thought that Mary Murphy’s critiques on the show were thoughtful and constructive (when we heard them), but we most often would fast-forward through her screaming because it was so very annoying. I am looking forward to seeing her choreography, though.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I like the new format either. I wish there could have been a top 20 instead of just 10 (or 11, in this case)</p>
<p>Oh, and as to why there are so many contemporary dancers on the show: to be a great contemporary dancer, you really must have a great background in ballet and jazz. So these people are going to be technically well-trained and versatile. And it’s pretty easy to come up with all kinds of different “contemporary” solos to present when you have to “dance for your life”. There is only so much one can do without a partner if one is a salsa dancer or something…</p>
<p>I’m sure that Mia is an exceptional dancer/choreographer. My dislike for her isn’t even entirely because of the rudeness and complete lack of respect she shows to dancers she either dislikes or feels it’s her place to remake (Brandon?). It’s because so much of that seems manufactured and put-on, as if she sees herself as the Simon Cowell of the dance world. It feels as if she’s creating her “brand” on the show instead of offering real constructive criticism.</p>
<p>But I’ll admit that half the time I mute the volume so I don’t have to hear what any of the judges say. :)</p>