Monthly Archives: June 2011

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So You Think You Can Dance (you knew it was coming)

The new season of So You Think You Can Dance (hereafter to be referred to as SYTYCD) has just started, and here are my thoughts about it so far.

I LOVE that there’s a Top 20 instead of a Top 10, there’s more wiggle room for magic surprises this way. With 10 you have spots wasted if someone they cast because “everyone will LOVE them” falls flat (see the tap dance girl from last season- Miranda? Melinda? Something with an M.). With 20 you have the chance that someone they cast as cannon fodder (who they know will be gone in the first couple of weeks) could come out of nowhere and be completely amazing and last until the end. And I’m so glad that they’re keeping the All Star format, it’s just awesome to see people from previous seasons, and I really do think it’s instructive for the current season’s contestants.

Onto my immediate impressions of the Top 20 (the videos from this week are here at least for right now, if you want to see who I’m talking about):

Contemporary

Ricky: LOVE LOVE LOVE. The man has extension for days. I hope he lasts a long time, but I’m not sure that he has the charisma to- so far he hasn’t struck me as a Jakob or a Billy.

Miranda: She’s solid, but I’m guessing she’s cannon fodder, simply because we saw NOTHING of her through all of the auditions.

Melanie: I adore her. I can’t wait to see what she can do- she just exudes joy when she dances.

Sasha: She could take the world down. Her movement is just gorgeous.

Caitlin: Again, she’s solid, but she’s another brunette with long hair who we’ve never seen before. Fodder!

Ashley: Love her.  She could go a long way.

Mitchell: Have we seen him before? He’s got nice lines.

Ryan: Beyond love her. I think the powers that be want her or Melanie to take the whole thing, and I’d be ok with that, but I hope they (the powers that be) stop being so obvious about it so people don’t turn against them (the girls).

Ballet

Alex:  So so lovely. I hope he can adapt to other styles. And that they don’t give him hip hop straight out of the gate and then compare him to last season’s Alex. Which I predict here and now is what’s going to happen.

Hip Hop/B-Boy

Chris: He’s cute, but did we see him in the auditions? I call cannon fodder cast in the name of looking good by having lots of b-boys this season.

Wadi: Super solid. I hope he can pull off other styles, because his b-boy is really good.

Tadd: I don’t think he was shown in auditions either, but I think he and Wadi are the strongest of the b-boys.

Robert: He’s really good, but the “wooo” thing is going to get old really quickly. Dressing him up like Erkle was an unfortunate way to go, he needs a tough guy dance soon.

Ballroom

Iveta: I’m so glad she’s finally on. She’s obviously so talented, I hope she can adapt to the other styles- it certainly seems like she wants to.

Jazz

Clarice: I’m sure she’s a perfectly good dancer, but unless she gets amazing routines out of the gate, I don’t give her long- we’ve seen nothing of her, and there doesn’t seem to be anything to set her apart from any of the other long haired brunettes.

Marko: I really like him, but I’m afraid they’re trying to set him up as this season’s Mark, which will only backfire horribly, because he’s no Mark. (Because no one can be. Except, you know, Mark.)

Jordan: She kind of totally and completely bugs me. I predict that she’ll stay around a while, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Missy: Total cannon fodder. Sorry, honey.

Broadway/Tap

Jess: Oh goodness, the “arrogant” edit already! He needs a major image makeover- whether or not he is an arrogant little guy they’re making him out to be one- he needs to be VERY careful what he says on stage. And be ready to get torn to pieces in the name of teaching him humility, so that when he comes out on the other side, they can claim his talent as their creation. (Hmmm, did that sound a little jaded? :) ) But his reactions do need help, and he needs to tone down the Broadway “play to the back of the crowd” perma grin.

Nick: Freakin’ adorable! How did they show none of him before? I hope he blows the other styles away so he can stick around! He has a non-smarminess about his performance that a lot of tappers on this show lack.

 

Overall, I think it will come down to girls this season. The girls with really solid technique are also really personable and memorable. The boys with solid technique (in whichever genre) seem quieter and less memorable. (At least so far. That could totally change.)

I’m hoping for more Chris Scott and Dave Scott routines- as I commented while watching the rehearsal footage they showed last week, Chris Scott is the Beastie Boys of dance- total cheesy white boy who’s got what it takes. More of both of them and less Tabitha and Napoleon would be great- Dorcas and Dynamite (I refuse to call them Nappytabs- that just sounds nasty) are better when they’re not trying to do two routines in a week.  I want to know where Wade and Mia are, and I’m hoping that we don’t have to see Ms. Pussycat Dolls again, though I know it’s a futile hope.

I’m interested in the idea of them having tap as an option, it’s nice to give Nick the possibility of dancing in his genre. But it could be hard to implement, would only some of the cards have the option of tap? Otherwise he could be in his wheelhouse quite often.

Are you watching? Who do you like?

 

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At this moment

It’s 5:49 pm. The sun is out, the leaves are rustling in the breeze.

The girls are playing Jake and the Pirates in their new pj’s (Z has bunnies, Tiny’s have monsters). They keep running in to ask permission to do whatever their doing in their game. “Momma, can we go with Jake to find treasure?” I keep telling them they can do whatever they want if they take the Cat in the Hat with them. That doesn’t seem unreasonable to them.

My toenails are gold. Very shiny.

I just finished Soft Spoken Parenting: 50 Ways not to Lose Your Temper with Your Kids by H. Wallace Goddard. It was really pretty excellent and helpful. Goddard is LDS, or at least LDS-adjacent, which I didn’t know when I ordered the book but was a nice surprise, but he’s not super obvious about it. (Note: Now that I’ve looked into him more, he’s definitely LDS. I just think the term LDS-adjacent is funny, so I shall leave it.) There’s really good perspective and some very useful techniques, which have come in handy already.

I’ve also finished rereading both Sum: 40 Tales of the Afterlives by David Eagleman and I was Someone Dead by Jamie S. Rich. Both are excellent, and among my favorite books. They’re both very thought provoking, and though I’ve read I was Someone Dead multiple times, I was struck by new ideas and themes this time around. I love it when that happens in a book.

Tiny just took herself to the bathroom and completed any toilet related processes therein all by herself. That makes the second time today. We’re making some progress!

I’m thinking about the Quilting for beginners class that I’m planning for this coming Friday. I’m just inviting friends, but I think it will be really fun, and I’m excited about it. I love watching people work up the guts to try new things! It’s inspiring, and I’m excited to see what my amazing friends come up with.

Speaking of quilts, check out what I just finished!


And here it is in action:

Z picked out this quilt quite a while ago, and I had all of the squares finished, but put off sewing the whole thing together as the squares that make up the skull had to line up really well and I was scared.  As I told Bruce when I started this quilt, as long as my cuts were really precise and my seam allowance stayed really accurate, it would turn out fantastic. Unfortunately, I’m really really bad at both of those things. I don’t think a single square turned out 12×12 like it was supposed to, but I improvised and it worked out just fine anyway. I used a batting that allowed 12 inches between stitches for quilting, so I quilted around the skull with an echoing line in white inside the skull, and then did a double line  just inside the border formed by the outside rows of squares around the whole thing. Does that remotely make sense? I don’t know. Anyway, I love it, and Z loves it, and that’s what matters. :)

Now I’m in the mood to make a log cabin quilt, and just have to figure out what to do. And I’ve gotten a bee in my bonnet about making a TARDIS (from Dr. Who) quilt, and now that I’ve found a picture of one that someone actually made, now I REALLY want to do it.

It’s time for me to go get the girls ready for bed. It’s only 6:30, but we’ve been reading TumTum and Nutmeg: Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall by Emily Bearn, and they are ADDICTED. We read 3 chapters already today (we usually only read at bedtime, but the evil Aunt Ivy was about to poison the intrepid mice heroes, and I knew things were going to get dramatic, so I decided to forge through that part during the day, rather than right before bed) and I know they will keep asking for more and more tonight. The earlier we start, the longer it will feel like we’ve read, while still getting them to sleep at a reasonable point. So that is what we will do. Because they have to get sleep because we’re going to the zoo tomorrow with their grandma and papa, so they must be rested.

What’s going on with you at this moment?