So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 Makes Me SO Happy!!!

Last summer I got hooked on So You Think You Dance, and back in July of 2007 it was one of my favorite blog topics (see:  So…You Think You Can Dance?  Why Not SHINE? and Arrogance Vs. Confidence & How This Relates to So You Think You Can Dance & YOU)  Sooooo…as the countdown to Season 4 began, my excitement intensified daily.  I half-heartedly sort of watched, sort of didn’t watch the auditions, but I what I was really waiting for was for THE COMPETITION to begin!  (and by the way, why is this phenomenal show only on once a year???)

The real show began this week.  So my friend K, who got me hooked on the show last summer, and I texted back and forth on Wednesday confirming our plans to watch it that night.  I remember the exact moment my So You Think You Can Dance obsession/addiction began last summer:  I had stopped by to visit K while she was watching SYTYCD, and sat, transfixed, breathless even, on her easy chair as as Danny & Anya danced Tyce DiOrio’s contemporary routine to “Apologize” by One Republic.  Transfixed.  Breathless.

Wednesday night, I sat on that same easy chair, giddy with anticipation for the new season to truly begin, and wondering, not for the first time, how I’ve made it all these months without Nigel, Mary and the Gang.  And then it was finally time:  Cat Deeley (unquestionably the best television host of all time) came on the screen and in her trademark British accent announced:  “And this is SoYouThinkYaCanDance!”  K and I spontaneously both broke into wild applause, as if we were in the studio audience, only we weren’t; we were in a studio apartment.

I’m not gonna lie - the first few moments were rough.  We missed our “friends” from last season, we were attached – me especially to Danny, and K to Neil.  The show kicked off with a montage of what turned out to be highlights from this season’s auditions, but what I had hoped would be highlights from last season’s show - I just couldn’t let go, I wasn’t ready to move on.

But then, about 4 numbers into the show and I was like, “Danny, who?” and K was like, “Neil, what?”  These new peeps were good.  Having watched obsessively last season, I have gained, by osmosis, my own dance critique vocabulary, and I often know what the “jidges” will say before they even say it.  For instance, I knew that the first couple, Rayven & Jamie, didn’t hit their hip hop routine hard enough, and that they needed to “get down” into it more, but overall, this season had a strong beginning and the dancers were poised and confident right out of the gate.  There were a lot of good, solid performances and my attachment to the Season 3 cast was starting to loosen, but still, I wasn’t totally blown away by anyone, the way I was last summer on that fateful hot, July evening, by Danny/Anya/One Republic.

Until.  Katee.  Joshua.  “No Air.”  Jordin Sparks f. Chris Brown.  I got that same, breathless, punched in the stomach (in a good way) feeling from their dance about a couple the night before the boyfriend has to go to Iraq.  First of all, the choreography was, well, breath-taking.  (side note:  Tabitha & Napoleon are officially my favorite choreographers, and also, such an adorable little hip-hop couple!  And K pointed out, and then paused and rewound her DVR to illustrate her point, that whenever Tabitha talks, her husband Napoleon gazes at her with that perfect mixture of awe, love, and admiration.)  And then, this dance required Joshua and Katee to act, which had the potential to go in a way cheesy direction, but they totally nailed it and it went in a way moving one instead.  Their emotion was genuine, like they felt their way through every second of their performance, and on top of that even, their chemistry together was incredible.  And most of all, the dance was so phenomenal, that I didn’t even notice the individual steps or technique, I just got completely swept away in their love story.  Transfixed.  Breathless.  And also endearing:  Joshua, who looks like this tough, badass hip hop guy, is so humble, and cried every time he advanced to the next round throughout the auditions, and last night on the results show.  Katee and Joshua infused hip hop with heart, and to quote Adam Shankman re: last season’s Sabra & Dominic dance to “Make It Work” by Neyo, “Hip hop just had a nice breakthrough tonight.”

Watching the results show last night, I was overjoyed that Katee and Joshua made it through and I will get to see them dance again next week.  On the flip side, seeing Will in the bottom 3 couples brought back my feelings of outrage and helplessness when Danny kept getting in the bottom 3, week after week.  But that is par for the course when you love SYTYCD as much as I do – with the intense highs, come the devastating lows.

Season 3 will always hold a special place in my heart, but I am ready to move on, and so excited to get to know my new “friends” of Summer ‘08, Season 4.  And I wait here, breathless, as if there is “No Air,” for next week’s episode and what it will bring.  According to the ticking countdown clock on the FOX website, there are only 5 days, 8 hours, 32 minutes, and 29 seconds until Week 2….

Dancing (Awkwardly) With the Stars: A Brand-New Beginner Takes the Stage

Hey there! Well, I’ve been away from blogging for a few months but I’m back, and yes, it is my other favorite dance-reality show that has brought me back: Dancing With the Stars, which premiered tonight as part of ABC Premiere Week.

One of my initial thoughts about this season (after: I can’t believe Beverly Hills 90201 was half my lifetime ago! It seems like just yesterday I was at my BFF Kate’s house eating Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream and pondering the age-old question – “Who’s cuter – Dylan or Brandon?”) popped into my head while Josie Maran was receiving a scathing critique from the judges. She was smiling in that multi-purpose way, when a smile is used to cover up other, un-happy emotions, and I swear I thought I saw her gulp down some tears. The judges told her, among other things, that she was “out of her element.” Curious, I looked up her element in her bio, and it turns out that it is: supermodel/actress/entrepreneur/activist and new mom. Hmmm. Seems like quite a big element to me. And these are the things that she is good – probably even exceptional – at.

This leads me to one of the reasons that I like (love) this show – it takes people who have achieved some level of success in a various area(s), rips them out of their element, and then plunks them smack-down into a new element, where Olympic athletes and Indianapolis 500 champions and supermodel/actress/entrepreneur/activist/new moms must be, once again, brand-new beginners.

While Josie was gracefully taking her critique, even though she had been less than graceful on the dance floor, I wondered, “Why would she put herself through this? She has already proven herself in a ton of highly competitive and/or challenging realms, why would she subject herself to being such an awkward beginner? Like, in front of people???”

Well, some things are worth busting out of your comfort zone for, and in her pre-dance video package, Josie stated that she went on this show to fulfill her lifelong dream of “being a rockstar without the singing.” I admire her for following her passion even when it took her away from proven success and back to the beginning, and for attempting something so new, so imperfectly in a very public arena.

This awkward, imperfect, new beginner phase is one that most of us would rather skip. However, trying to avoid it is what can keep us trapped in the familiar ruts of things that we are already good at, but that may no longer challenge, serve, and/or inspire us, when our potential is really so much greater.

For instance, I love to write. And there are certain forms that I feel comfortable and confident writing, such as plays, and blogging. I know how to do it, and I have gotten positive feedback to reinforce this. There are other forms that I am totally unfamiliar with, but would like to explore. However, to do this, I have to be willing to be…bad. I have to be willing to take critique, and it might be harsh. I have to be willing to fail. I have to be willing to not know. This is, unfortunately, the only way to learn something new, and to (gulp!) grow.  Reminiscent of that other fine ABC program of years past, Growing Pains…

I am not a person who likes not knowing, who enjoys being awkward and imperfect and mistake-ridden. But tonight on Dancing With the Stars Josie Maran reminded me that if I want to “be a rockstar without singing,” I have to be willing to streeeettttttttttch and 5-6-7-8 Dance! outside of my comfort zone by being a teetering, awkward, messy, imperfect, uncomfortable beginner. Ick.

While me trying something new doesn’t involve Cha-Cha-Cha-ing in front of millions, it is never fun to fail in front of small groups either, or even in front of a crowd of one.  However, Josie Maran’s awkward, botched Foxtrot gave me a little kick of inspiration to step out into a new element myself.  And maybe if Josie keeps it up, she will be able to add dancer to the end of her already impressive title and be a supermodel/actress/entrepreneur/activist/new mom/dancer.  And if I keep it up, who knows what I can become.  As Thomas Edison, one who was on intimate terms with failure (he had over 10,000 of them), said, “If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”

This month, give it a whirl and astound yourself!

Other random Dancing thoughts, in no particular order:

1) It’s so great to see Mel B. on the scene – I wanted to BE Scary Spice in 1997. Click herefor a reminder of why the Spice Girls were the coolest evah, circa 1996 (“Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want…”) or here for a heart-felt ballad (“Set your spirit free, it’s the only way to be…”).

2) Jane Seymour is the oldest woman to ever be on Dancing With the Stars at 56 and she rocks!!!  I saw an interview with her on Access Hollywood (Yes, I watch this.  Rarely, but I do) where she said she had thought about getting plastic surgery prior to going on Dancing but then she decided to be honest about what a 56-year-old woman looks like.  Hooooorayyyyyyyy!  She looks gorgeous and is a fantastic dancer and she rocks like, SO MUCH!

3a) What’s a Cheetah Girl, and

3b) Did you notice Sabrina Bryan used some form of the word “Cheetah” as an adjective, and a verb, and maybe even an adverb? Kinda like the idea behind “Smurfalicious.”

AND, as a sidenote, The Bachelor premiered tonight, and ABC is touting this season’s Bachelor, Brad Womack, as “the sexiest/best looking Bachelor yet/ever (depending on the promo).” So much to absorb in one night…

Enjoy Premiere Week!

xoxo,

Jen

I’d love to hear from you! What did you think of tonight’s Dancing? Do you have something new you want to branch out and try but you’re afraid of being an awkward beginner? And who’s cuter – Dylan or Brandon?

Copyright © 2007 by Jennifer Garam. All rights reserved.

So…You Think You Can Dance? Why Not SHINE?

Danny & Anya’s radiance on this week’s So You Think You Can Dance

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I often tell my students that they can find inspiration for writing topics everywhere – in the lyrics of a pop song, on a walk through a park, in a snippet of an overheard conversation (side note: I frequently overhear interesting conversations at Starbucks that could potentially serve as jumping off points for stories and/or characters. I once heard a woman declare (actually quite loudly so I didn’t really even have to eavesdrop) to her friend, about a freshly-ended relationship: “I JUST MISS THE SEX!”, and more recently I caught a conversation that involved smeared fecal matter). So as you can see, inspiration abounds all around. This week, I took my own advice, and found inspiration in…So You Think You Can Dance.

I used to be a Dancing With The Stars snob, and I’d only ever watched So You Think You Can Dance one time last summer, primarily because Natasha Beddingfield was the musical guest and I loved that song “Unwritten.” But this season, my friend KB has shown me the error of my ways in disregarding So You Think You Can Dance in seasons past, and I have come to the realization that I have room for two dance-based reality shows in my life. (As a recent convert, I have already spread this Dance gospel to my Mom, to whom I emailed the below SYTYCD YouTube links, and then, while on the phone, I forced her to press play at the exact same time as I did so that we could simultaneously watch and enjoy my favorite dance numbers together.)

This week, in my attempt to live a more balanced life, I took time out of my workaholic schedule for both the Wednesday performance show and the Thursday results show (OK, I only caught the end of the results show, but that is when all the crucial who-is-cut-who-is-coming-back information is imparted anyway, and besides, I was late tuning in because I was coming from a yoga class, which also contributes to a balanced life, and not because of any work-related reason).

Watching this show, I feel exhilarated, inspired, and invigorated, much like I have felt watching all those somewhat-cheesy dance-themed movies in years past – such as Center Stage in 2000, featuring dancer/actress Amanda Schull, and Ethan Stiefel of the American Ballet Theatre, and culminating in an exuberant, edgy, and ground-breaking dance number to that Jamiroquai song “Canned Heat”- which is to say, like I want to swing by Broadway Dance Center, pick up a schedule, and DANCE like my life depended on it!

Back to reality: this week on So You Think You Can Dance, my favorite number was Anya & Danny’s contemporary routine. I was watching the dance, mesmerized, and then it was over, and I realized I had not bothered to breathe in the past 3 or so minutes, and I felt like the dance itself had punched me in the stomach, and taken my breath away, in the best possible sense. Ohmygoodness, the heat, the passion, the longing and raw desire. Um, WOW. Anya and Danny are both phenomenal dancers in their own right, and as a couple, they have the kind of chemistry that jumps out at you and punches you in the stomach, which is to say, breathtaking.

I was however, disappointed with the critique they received. First of all, Danny was criticized for “disconnecting” from Anya in moments, but hello, this was a timeless love story of coming together and then ripping apart, only to, unable to deny the intense magnetic attraction any longer, come back together again, much like, well, life. Haven’t you ever had any relationships like that? (Only they usually don’t include such elaborate leaps and partner tricks…or maybe they do…)

But even more upsetting was how Danny was lambasted for his arrogance. This was after being referred to by one of the judges as “unquestionably one of the most beautiful male dancers I have ever seen, uh, ever,” and being told by another, “when you leap, nobody leaps as high and with such power and explosive…” So I’m asking you judges, what’s wrong with a little arrogance? I mean personally, he doesn’t come off as arrogant to me, but what if he did? He is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. He is doing seriously freakin’ hard things, like leaping through the air in a single bound, and contorting his (gorgeous) body in the name of art!!! Clearly, he is passionate about dancing and works hard, so what’s wrong with knowing he is talented and exceptional and wonderful and fabulous, and further radiating and celebrating that? He is great, so why not rock his greatness, and SHINE like the light that he is? Sure, he could fake humility, but how annoying and obnoxious is that? He was told: “With the kind of technique you have, you dance like you think you know you already won the competition.” Well, why not imagine a positive outcome? Why is it better to imagine and anticipate the worst, that you will lose, fail, that things will not work out for you, that nothing will go your way? Why is that “humble” stance more revered?

And in conclusion I say, rock on with yo’ talented hot self, Danny! Most of us could use a lot more unabashed appreciation of our own fine, talented, exceptional, wonderful, fabulous selves. We can stop playing so small – JUST STOP IT RIGHT HERE & NOW – and play instead to our big, bold, beautiful juicy talents that we ALL have – regardless of whether or not we can “backbend and then grande off the floor.” So this week, don’t be afraid to boldly, unapologetically, rock YOUR best, biggest, brightest talents, whatever they may be! Perhaps you can even sneak them into play more than once. Why not? GO FOR IT!!! And don’t even try to be humble about it…

For your viewing pleasure, here are some of my other favs from this week’s show. Post a comment and let me know what you think! Should Danny pretend to be humble? Who is your favorite? It can be like a book club, except with dance reality!

• Lauren & Neil’s jazz routine (choreographed by Wade Robson – ‘member his (short-lived) dance reality show The Wade Robson Project (aired from August 18, 2003 – October 13, 2003) – a great example of a successful guy having a “Failure” Chapter in his Success Story (see: “The Glorious Success of Failure,” May 4, 2007)
• Sabra & Dominic’s hip hop routine – sooooooooooooo steamy! Hip hot + heart! (“Hip hop just had a nice breakthough tonight,” Adam Shankman, SYTYCD Guest Judge.) By the way, Sabra has only been dancing for 4 years! We can all live the dream!

Have a ROCKIN’ weekend and I will see you at Broadway Dance!!!

xoxo,

Jen

Copyright © 2007 by Jennifer Garam. All rights reserved.