Tapeworthy

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Deconstructing Broadway in Toronto

Did you know Seth Rudetsky is gonna Deconstruct Broadway in Toronto!?

Deconstructing Broadway
ONE NIGHT ONLY
September 28, 2010
Isabel Bader Theatre
Doors open at 8pm
93 Charles Street West
(Corner of Charles and Avenue)

Adult: $35
Student: $20

There's also a Master Class during the day:

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

SYTYCDC3 - License to Dance

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Season 3 - Top 16 Performance - Ep. 313
Judges: Jean-Marc Généreux, Tré Armstrong, Rex Harrington, Stacey Tookey

Can we please make Rex Harrington and Stacey Tookey permanent judges? And have 1 rotating guest judge? They are so eloquent and actually seem to have some critical things to say without needing to sound harsh or overpraisy.

Also, I'm loving Stacey's look tonight. Fabulous!

Ok, there are really no dancers that I still actively dislike. Of the Top 16, I feel some of the girls still haven't distinguished themselves with a personality, but are still really good dancers. While the boys have all been equally likable and even those that haven't had stellar dances yet, all have the potential to be great in the Top 10.

Claudia Primeau and Edgar Gilbert-Reyes
Style: Mambo
Choreographed by: Gustavo Vargas
Song: "La Reina" - La Lupe
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Girl: B+
Grade - Boy: A

Is it me or did Edgar kill that? I mean, he's a hip-hop dancer. This should have been a total disaster. But I thought he looked so strong and suave there and looked fantastic!

Claudia, who I thought should have been eliminated last week, was great but considering this is her style, I almost expected more. And while she may have done the moves more properly (I don't actually know the technical aspect of this), I thought Edgar looked better while dancing this and she looked a bit sloppier next to him.

Maybe Edgar just has the innate Cuban spice in him, cause it just looked so easy for him. Maybe that's why he conveniently got this ballroom style. I'd call it a conspiracy if I didn't like him so much.

Here's the video of Claudia and Edgar's Mambo (via CTV):

Nathalie Heath and Mackenzie Green
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Blake McGrath
Song: "After Afterall" - William Fitzsimmons
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Girl: A
Grade - Boy: A

I think I may have a similar dream with Mackenzie in that costume. Or the lack thereof. And I think everyone watching this may have had an orgasm. I think I'm going to have a lot more dreams about this from now on.

What can I say? A moving and mature piece from Blake, and practically naked Mackenzie and Nathalie showing their technical prowess and stripping down not only into their briefs, but their emotional core.

Mackenzie is seriously becoming one of my faves. He was the pretty boy to start off with but he's had the chops to convince me he's not just a pretty face (but damn, is it a pretty face)!

Here's the video of Nathalie and Mackenzie's Contemporary (via CTV):

Amanda Cleghorn and Denys Drozdyuk
Style: House
Choreographed by: Sho-Tyme
Song: "Hey Hey" - Dennis Ferrer
Grade - Dance: A
Grade - Girl: A-
Grade - Boy: B+

I still don't know exactly the difference between House and Hip-Hop except that I think House is supposed to be bouncier and lighter and groovier. But hearing that Denys, who has been one of the strongest and most versatile male dancers this year (and ballroom dancers from any year), had to do House, I was a bit worried because I SO want him to do well here.

So I thought both dancers did a great job moving to Sho-Tyme's deceivingly difficult moves. Amanda looked totally at ease with it.

Denys was impressive especially for a ballroom dancer but you could definitely tell he was still a ballroom dancer trying to do House, with tiny flairs from ballroom sneaking into the House, but luckily since House is bouncier than a hard Hip-Hop is required, it mostly worked, and Denys didn't look ridiculously out of place. Just slightly out of place. Still love him though. This could have been a complete disaster for him and it wasn't at all. Now it was just the details that needed some refinement.

Here's the video of Amanda and Denys' House (via CTV):

Charlene Hart and Jeff Mortensen
Style: Lyrical Jazz
Choreographed by: Sean Cheesman
Song: "Desnudate" - Christina Aguilera
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Girl: A
Grade - Boy: A-

So Jeff needs to look sexy hot for this piece. And I did not think he could pull it off.

But apparently he pulled it off. Actually, Charlene pulled his shirt off. And somehow, it all kinda worked.

Jeff, with hair down, was actually pretty hot in a gay nightclub boy dancer way. Which is OKAY by me!

And Charlene. Well, I think she had a bit less to do here but I think she's just always gets the tone and attitude right, and her moves always look so fresh and easily performed, that I think she's one of the girls to beat.

Here's the video of Charlene and Jeff's Lyrical Jazz (via CTV):

Janick Arseneau and Shavar Blackwood
Style: Contemporary
Choreographed by: Mandy Moore
Song: "Ordinary Moment" - Fisher
Grade - Dance: A-
Grade - Girl: A-
Grade - Boy:: B-

Janick has had some bad luck weeks so I'm glad to see her back with a great performance here. Doing another contemporary dance around a table. The table always seems to help doesn't it? It's a great prop to dance around.

Meanwhile, this was Shavar's bad luck week as they returned from his style of Hip-Hop to Contemporary. He does a fine job with it and it wasn't a disaster at all, but the lines could have been better and there could have been more resonance from within.

Rex says Shavar's breathing and tightening and releasing needs to go with the emotions. Still, it's impressive for someone who only began to dance 4 years ago, but this is where the lack of years of training start to show their strain and where the other dancers start surpassing him.

Here's the video of Janick and Shavar's Contemporary (via CTV):

Danielle Gardner and Sebastian Mersch
Style: Hip-Hop
Choreographed by: Luther Brown
Song: "Hard" - Rihanna feat. Young Jeezy
Grade - Dance: C+
Grade - Girl: B-
Grade - Boy: C+

Oh boy. Well, I love that Sebastian snort laughs. Awww... I do too sometimes. That just makes me love him more. As does his I'm-a-white-boy-trying-to-dance-Hip-Hop. It's kinda cute that he tries so hard but just his skinny little body just can't hit the weight and heaviness needed for the piece.

Danielle fares a bit better but Luther's dances are never my fave and it's slightly slow, which doesn't help hide the lack in "bad" attitude from the dancers.

Nice use of Special FX at the end there. They've never really used that before. Clever!

Here's the video of Danielle and Sebastian's Hip-Hop (via CTV):

Kirsten Wicklund and Jesse Weafer
Style: Rumba
Choreographed by: Eric Caty and Kelly Lannan
Song: "Always" - Bon Jovi
Grade - Dance: B+
Grade - Girl: A-
Grade - Boy: A

That was a rumba? That felt more like a Contemporary. A nice contemporary but definitely not a rumba. Is that the dancers fault or the choreographers?

As for the actual dancing, I thought they both did great, and danced it beautifully, and the new pair really connected well. It helps that Kirsten is so beautiful and Jesse is pretty darn hot.

Stacey thought they had the best chemistry of the night, which is amazing for a new pair. Seriously, I felt like they had been dancing for a few weeks. Stacey thought it was Jesse's strongest performance.

Rex thought Jesse got the hips but not the hands but did a great Rumba which is slow and controlled.

Here's the video of Kirsten and Jesse's Rumba (via CTV):

Kloe Schultz and Jonathan Arsenault
Style: New Disco
Choreographed by: Melissa Williams
Song: "If I Had You" - Adam Lambert
Grade - Dance: B+
Grade - Girl: B
Grade - Boy: A-

Kloe's thing we "didn't know"? Uh, really? And yet Jonathan (and ALL the boys for that matter) seem to have "secrets" that just make me love them more.

Anyways, I liked that both Kloe and Jonathan had the right attitude going into this but I agree with the judges in that Kloe needed more bounce to her steps or something. The inbetweens seemed to be lacking.

But Jonathan looks so manly and a guys guy even when dancing the disco and that's why I love him, despite never having a perfect dance yet this season.

Here's the video of Kloe and Jonathan's New Disco (via CTV):

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Final Roundup:

So the choreographers here really like to have the guys shirtless (or almost) in the dances, don't they? Not complaining. Just mentioning!

Ranking the Couples:
Best of the Night: Nathalie and Mackenzie's Contemporary
2nd: Kirsten and Jesse's Rumba
3rd: Charlene and Jeff's Lyrical Jazz
4th: Claudia and Edgar's Salsa
5th: Amanda and Denys' House
6th: Kloe and Jonathan's New Disco
7th: Janick and Shavar's Contemporary
8th - Worst of the Night: Danielle and Sebastian's Hip-Hop

My Predictions
Predicted Bottom 3 Couples:
Claudia and Edgar
Janick and Shavar
Amanda and Denys

Should Go Home: Claudia and Shavar

Will Go Home: Claudia and Shavar

Here's the current unfair ranking of the remaining dancers at this point, based on everything so far (last week's ranking in Parentheses):

1. Mackenzie (4)
2. Charlene (3)
3. Denys (1)
4. Jesse (6)
5. Edgar (7)
6. Amanda (2)
7. Janick (10)
8. Jonathan (5)
9. Nathalie (9)
10. Jeff (16)
11. Danielle (12)
12. Sebastian (8)
13. Kirsten (17)
14. Kloe (14)
15. Shavar (15)
16. Claudia (18)

Next week the performance show moves to Wednesday nights and the results moves to Thursdays. I'll be late with the posts over the next two weeks. I'll be on a trip to Asia, so when I return, it will already be the Top 10. I'd better see My top 6-8 up there! I'm undecided about the others. Love a lot of them, just gets squeezed down on the list just because.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
For More So You Think You Can Dance:
Check here for the most Recent current postings and Latest News on SYTYCD

So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 3:
Top 18 Performances, Top 18 Results
Top 20 Perfomances, Top 20 Results
Top 22 Performances and Results

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 7:
Finale - Final 3 Results
Top 3 Performances
Top 4 Performances, Top 4 Results
Top 6 Redux Performances, Top 6 Redux Results
Top 6 Performances, Top 6 Results
Top 7 Performances, Top 7 Results
Top 8 Performances, Top 8 Results
Top 9 Performances, Top 9 Results
Top 10 Performances, Top 10 Results
Top 11 Performances, Top 11 Results
Season 7 Top 11 Showcase
Auditions:
Dallas, Nashville, Vegas Week and Top 11 Announcement
Los Angeles and Chicago
New York City and Miami
Announcing the All-Stars! With Sexy Pictures!
Discussion on Format Change

Decadeworthy - SYTYCDworthy - Ranking All the Top 10 Dancers from SYTYCD and SYTYCDCanada (w/ Videos) - List Format

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 6:
Finale - Final 6 Results
Final 6 Performances
Top 8 Performances, Top 8 Results
Top 10 Performances, Top 12 Results
Top 12 Performances, Top 12 Results
Top 14 Performances, Top 14 Results
Top 16 Performances, Top 16 Results
Top 18 Performances and Results
Top 20 Performances and Results
Introducing the Top 20, The Top 20 Showcase

So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Season 2 with So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 Auditions:
Finale
Top 4 Performances
Top 6 Performances, Top 6 Results & US Vegas Week Auditions Continued
Top 8 Performances, Top 8 Results & US Salt Lake City and Vegas Week 1 Auditions
Top 10 Performances, Top 10 Results & US New Orleans and Atlanta Auditions
Top 12 Performances, Top 12 Results & US Boston Auditions
Top 14 Performances, Top 14 Results & US Phoenix Auditions
Top 16 Performances, Top 16 Results & US Los Angeles Auditions
Top 18 Performance, Top 18 Results and SYTYCD Top 15 Dances of all time
Top 20 Performance, Top 20 Results
Top 20 Announced
Auditions - Toronto, Vancouver, Saint John
Montréal, Edmonton

My Top 25 Routines from SYTYCD Season 1-5

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 5:
Finale
Top 4 Performance
Top 6 Performance, Top 6 Results
Top 8 Performance, Top 8 Results and Panel Chat
Top 10 Performance, Top 10 Results and Panel Chat
Top 12 Performance, Top 12 Results and Panel Chat
Top 14 Performance, Top 14 Results, Top 14 Panel Chat
Top 16 Performance, Top 16 Results and Panel Chat
Top 18 Performance, Top 18 Results and Panel Chat
Top 20 Performance, Top 20 Results and Panel Chat
Auditions - Vegas Week Part 2 - Top 20 Announcement, Top 20 Pictures/Panel Chat
Vegas Week Part 1
New York City, Denver, Miami, Memphis, LA, Seattle

So You Think You Can Dance Canada:
Finale
Top 8 and 6 Performances and Results, Top 4 Performances
Top 10 Performances, Results 10 to 8
Top 12 Performances, Results 12 to 10
Top 14 Performances, Results 14 to 12
Top 16 Performances, Results 16 to 14
Top 18 Performances, Results 18 to 16
Top 20 Performances and Results
Introducing Canada's Top 20
Auditions:
Toronto Week - The Cut to the Top 20
Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary, Montreal - West, East, Middle and Quebec
Toronto - Toronto's Best Foot Forward
The Judges, The Host, The Teaser, All Photos from CTV

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 4:
Finale
Top 4 Performances
Top 6 Performances and Results 6 to 4
Top 8 Performances, Results 8 to 6
Top 10 Performances, Results 10 to 8
Top 16, 14 and 12 Weeks Recaps by Vance again
Top 12 Performances, Results 12 to 10 - Guest Blogger Linz McC
Top 14 Performances, Results 14 to 12 - Guest Blogger Linz McC
Top 16 Performances, Results 16 to 14 - Guest Blogger Linz McC
Top 18 Performances, Results 18 to 16
Top 20 Performances, Results 20 to 18
Introducing the Top 20
Auditions:
Callbacks in Las Vegas - The Top 20 Revealed - What Happens In Vegas
Milwaukee, WI - How The Midwest Was Won
Charleston, South Carolina and Washington D.C. - S.C.D.C. The New Electric (Boogaloo) Term!
Salt Lake City and Dallas - Yeehaw Utah!
Los Angeles - It's Time To Put On Those Dancing Shoes Again Kids!

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 3:
Live Tour - Toronto, Pasha's Solo Video, Neil's Solo Video
Finale - Winner Result
T op 4 Performances - Finals
Top 6 Performances, Top 6 Results
Top 8 Performances, Top 8 Results
Top 10 Performances, Top 10 Results
Top 12 Performances, Top 12 Results
Top 14 Performances, Top 14 Results
Top 16 Performances, Top 16 Results
Top 18 Performances, Top 18 Results
Top 20 Performances, Top 20 Results

For So You Think You Can Dance Season 2:
Favorite Video Clips
Song List Live Tour 2006 - Toronto
Live Tour 2006 - Buffalo, Pics, More Pics
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com

More After the Jump...

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Theatreworthy: Disco and Divas

BREAKDOWN! Just got my tickets to Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Opening on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre, Previews begin Oct. 2nd 2010, Opens Nov. 4th, Closes Jan. 23 2011)

And don't the Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown look great? (L-R: Laura Benanti, Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Nikka Graff Lanzarone)

Loving that Patti and Laura are reuniting after Gypsy!

Also got my tickets to Leap of Faith (Ahmanson Theatre at CTG in Los Angeles, Previews begin Sep. 11, Opens Sep. 25, Closes Oct. 24).

This is where Raúl Esparza plays a disco ball (as @thecraptacular calls it):

And got my subscription tickets to Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical for the pre-Broadway Toronto run (starting Oct 12 2010, opens on Broadway Mar 6 2011)! Funny that the Queen is playing the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, and supposedly taking the Palace Theatre on Broadway!

Here's a clip from the London production starring Jason Donovan, Tony Sheldon (who will reprise his role in Toronto and Broadway) and Oliver Thornton:

Here's the women who will apparently are on the verge of having a nervous breakdown (L-R: de'Adre Aziza, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Laura Benanti, Mary Beth Peil):

Can't wait for all the shows!

Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com