The First Ten Dances

It took me 5 hours, but I finally got through the first post-audition "So You Think You Can Dance" episode. Serene Jr. was a bit demanding today, so there was a lot of stopping and starting. Watching the first hop-hop number went like this:

hit play
15 seconds of dance
hit pause
10 minutes of feeding the baby
hit play
15 seconds of dance
hit pause
10 minutes of trying to figure out what Serene Jr. wants
hit play
15 seconds of dance
etc.
then followed by me rewinding the whole thing and watching the routine again.

Things I liked:
The Waltz number with Miami Susie and Marquis. The music (Dark Waltz by Hayley Westenra) was really nice, costumes were good and I like the choreography. The execution was okay--would have liked to see that one lift done properly.


The Contemporary number by Mia Michaels. She does it again. I loved a lot of her numbers last season and I'm so glad she's involved again. She chooses the best music (this routine was Beautiful by Me' Shell Ndegecello). I loved the part where Mark and Chelsie rolled over each other so effortlessly. Also the part where he folded her up like a puff ball.

Things I didn't like:

The ADD-style camera work and editing. I guess they're trying to keep the excitement level up so they're tilting the camera and cutting between a zillion camera angles. It's distracting and makes it hard to see some of the moves. Yech.

The Tango that the judges just loved. It confused me. Seemed more paso doble with a pinch of flamenco and tango. Jessica did too much wobbling and hopping. The music could have been better too.

What I loved:

The hip-hop number choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha to "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. Joshua and Katee gave intense performances. Joshua's backward leap-glide from a prone position was just plain cool. I was moved. It even left Nigel speechless for a moment.