<p>I don’t see the appeal of Valerie at all. I get it’s not best dancer, but favorite. I said the same thing that I was glad someone with no dance training but has some out there style is still in it. I never really got the fikshun appeal for example. They are so talented at this point I think the choreographer and judges comments make them or break them. I liked the spider number. Didn’t love it, but liked the premise. I also liked the one with Rudy and Allison to DIrty Diana - she’s spectacular and does crazy well. </p>
<p>I missed the show last night (again!) and have been trying to catch up on the videos. So far I have only seen the solos, and read everyone’s comments here.</p>
<p>It makes me mad that Tanisha got cut–she and Jessica are by far the best girls. I think it’s true that it is a beauty/popularity contest to some degree. It’s the only thing that explains Valerie still being on the show. As for the guys, I haven’t been a big fan of Rudy but I thought his solo was great. So I was sorry to hear he got cut.</p>
<p>Will try to watch the group pieces today if I can…</p>
<p>I didn’t think that Valerie, Casey, or Jacquie did all that well, but right, no real criticism from the judges. Maybe the judges realize that at thispoint, criticism can sink the contenstants. (With Casey, I thought he wasn’t really given enough to do.)</p>
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<p>I think Tanisha is a beast…a better dancer than either Valerie or Jacquie. And I do think she’s not “America’s favorite” because of her looks. Sad, but welcome to the world of professional dance, and entertainment in general. I remember reading posts on another site from a mom whose terrific dancer daughter was trying to “make it.” The girl kept being so hurt to find out she was too tall for some gigs, too heavy for others, etc etc. Remember the song from Chorus Line that starts out “Dance 10, Looks 3”?</p>
<p>I don’t think Jacquie is really a ballerina. There is no way she’s at the ballet company level. I feel like I hold my breath anytime she’s en pointe. I think it’s just one of the genres she does, but they labeled her ballerina. </p>
<p>I agree on Tanisha - absolutely stunning to watch dance but there is no way to get around the unfortunate fact that the entertainment business is pretty damn shallow. </p>
<p>Jacque has a lot of local training in Des Moines, where she is from. She is also on the Iowa State dance team starting this year. But no, she is not company level.</p>
<p>I really wonder how rigged the whole thing is. It has just been so convenient to have two tappers (male/female), two very strong contemporary/competition dancers in Ricky and Jessica, and so on. </p>
<p>I’m still trying to figure out how Casey ended up in the bottom 2. He had a great partner in Kathryn, but maybe the genre did him in more than his performance. I haven’t been wowed by too many of the hip-hop routines so far this season and I think the choreography has as much to do with it as the performances. So much depends on when the dancers get great choreography and genres to their liking. A few weeks back Jessica and Casey got Contemporary with a Travis Wall routine. Probably saved Jessica for sure at the time. Still hard to believe she was dancing for her life early on this season. I agree about Valerie and think she got “over-praised” for her Samba routine. I swear that girl has 9 lives.</p>
<p>Sally, whenever I get to the stage in SYTYCD that I feel personally invested in one or more of the dancers, I have to tell myself that first and foremost, it’s a TV show. A whole lot goes on behind the scenes of which we are not aware.</p>
<p>I know a mom whose son was part of a group that went deep into America’s Got Talent. As you would suspect, she learned a lot that soured her on the show.</p>
<p>What I do like about SYTYCD is that we aren’t shown negative backstage drama, to try to sway votes and drive ratings. We are shown contestants that are supportive of each other. Don’t know if that is genuine, but I like to think it is, and that makes me a happier viewer.</p>
<p>The contestants definitely support each other. I’ve seen lots of videos posted by fellow contestants, and it’s just an awesome environment. </p>
<p>Plus, it’d be awkward if the top 10 didn’t get along, since they will be going on tour together. </p>
<p>sally, I bet that those two tappers are there because Nigel wants to have a tap number when the top 10 go on tour. When they dissed Valerie last week, I was sure he was doing it because he felt it was her time to go – he got her in the top 10, and that’s all that mattered to him.</p>
<p>I am a little surprised at the comments about Tanisha – she is unconventional looking but still very pretty. And very sexy when she dances. I just don’t think a ballroom dancer will ever win – remember Jenna last year?</p>
<p>Y’all quit dissin’ on my girl Valerie! I like her!! I think because she reminds me a bit of my D when she was dancing. She’s not the perfect dancer’s body, and maybe not the most naturally gifted with flexibility or extension—but the girl is a good dancer and is a delightful performer, IMO. I think she is adorable. </p>
<p>To each his or her own, though! :)</p>
<p>It’s not just looks that sway the voters to look beyond talent. Personality and back story are also a big part of it. Danny Tidwell was one of the finest dancers ever on the show, and actually had a killer back story, but he came off as too cool and confident and couldn’t defeat a dancer with a more cuddly personality. But anyone who participates in a show where the general public chooses the winners is voluntarily subjecting themselves to this sort of shallow reaction. I’m sure there are many fine dancers who wouldn’t be caught dead in a TV competition where they’ll be judged on their faces, hair, voices, charm (or lack thereof), and hard luck background (or lack thereof) in addition to their dancing. I just hope the exposure Tanisha got from SYTYCD will help her career.</p>
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<p>A dear friend who is CRAZY talented auditioned for SYTYCD. Before you go in to do the first round (in which dancers improv for a bit in front of some of the show’s people----Nigel, Mary, et al are NOWHERE in sight! ), you fill out a bunch of info where they are obviously looking for cool back stories. That only makes sense, I suppose. Makes the dancers seem like real people and makes it more interesting to watch. I do appreciate that the show does not focus on manufactured drama and/or back-biting among the dancers! They could indeed easily go there!! I don’t understand, though, why they try to make it seem like everyone who auditions for the show actually gets to do their solo in front of the judges. They definitely do NOT!</p>
<p>Of course! I understand and recognize that Valerie is not the most talented and skilled of the dancers. In all honesty, I am actually pulling for Ricky to win. I think he’s truly amazing and deserves it! </p>
<p>I think a lot of us dance moms on this thread see things in some of the SYTYCD dancers that remind us of one of our kids or another kid we know from dance. I think the reason Valerie has gotten so far is that she is sort of an EveryGirl, who’s cute and spunky and seems kind of old-fashioned. I guarantee she is getting the grandma vote on the show. And probably more than a few of us here want her sweetness and energy to count for something, just as we did when our own kids were coming up and maybe weren’t always the most talented in the group.</p>
<p>On this show, though, I do hope talent counts most of all in the end–it’s hard enough for people to understand dance or realize how much goes into making a dancer good enough to perform on stage.</p>
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<p>True that. My D was always such a pretty dancer. Very good but not flawless technique, did not really have the perfect legs and feet for it. But she was always so pretty to watch. If she had been a SYTYCD contestant, she would be the one who the “uneducated” voters would be voting for.</p>
<p>And clearly our opinion is the minority since she’s still in it. </p>
<p>Tonight’s show was really great. I thought all the dancers had wonderful moments, but there were a couple of dances that kind of left me cold: The Ray Leaper (going to a club) one with Jessica just did nothing for me. Also the fox trot —I completely agreed with everything Christina Applegate said about the dancers making exaggerated faces and such. </p>
<p>Stand out dances for me were Ricky and Anya’s cha-cha (I was worried he would not be able to dance beside her…but he totally pulled it off!); and Valerie and t’Witch’s “wedding” hip hop (I thought she was wonderful in that with him….). </p>
<p>Ricky is still my favorite to win. I know I will be in the minority here in being happy that Valerie is still in it…I was pleasantly surprised at that one. </p>
<p>Ricky is a Cuban-American boy from Miami! He can cha-cha. Earlier in this thread I posted his tongue-in-cheek cha-cha “slide”–it’s awesome. I wish he could do it on the show. </p>
<p>Still not getting Valerie, but she is more interesting than Jacque as a dancer. They really didn’t have a very strong crop of women this year, did they? Jessica is amazing, though, and I like her more the more I see her dance. </p>
<p>I thought Valerie really had a great moment dancing with Twitch last night and agree about Jessica. She totally got screwed in that Ray Leaper dance. I also thought Nigel “crossed the line” in his criticism of her. I think he made a good point about her solos being too one-dimensional but he was unfair (yet again) in placing too much blame on a poor performance based on crappy choreography. </p>
<p>It seems more than obvious which female Nigel wants to see win.</p>
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<p>Except this season it’s only going to be one winner—not one guy and one girl. So I am pretty sure it will be Ricky.</p>