SYTYCD: So You Think You Can Choreograph? - Jeannine Poggi

Every Wednesday night following the So You Think You Can Dance live competition round we scrutinize the contestant39s every pirouette rond de jambe and arabesque We debate how well any given contemporary dancer is able to handle hiphop and if a bboyer can pull off the quick stepBut the analysis doesn39t stop at the contestant39s dancing technique We then go on to assess their performance nit picking on every face pull smile and sultry stareIf they pass both of these test and on top of that or sometimes more importantly America likes their personality we may pick up the phone and voteWhen everything goes well and the contestants move Mary Murphy to either tears or screams the choreographers are profusely praised for their artistryBut only rarely do the judges or America place the blame on the choreographers when the dances fail Instead the contestants told they didn39t interpret the choreography properly which in translation generally means the dance wasn39t very goodOf course this is a dancing competition where one talented and lucky contestant wins the title of America39s favorite dancer The title of the show isn39t So You Think You Can Choreograph though Fox should probably look into that so in theory there39s no reason for the choreographer39s work to be judged by the expert panelBut dancing is a group effort You can be an amazing dancer but be given choreography that doesn39t properly show off your assets An uninspiring Waltz or Rumba can come across as boring on even some of the best dancersOn the other hand you can be a mediocre dancer who is given moves that highlight your strengths and mask your weaknesses we have seen many a bboyer get through contemporary routine by pretty much walking through the danceSo far in Season 8 several strong couples have ended up in the bottom three due to mediocre choreographyTyce Diorio who is typically one of my favorite choreographers has been unimpressive while week after week Sonya Tayeh39s dances have been just too quirky for my tasteOn the other end of the spectrum the standout choreographers for several seasons now are Tabitha and Napoleon The husbandandwife team have turned hiphop into a true art form creating stories that are moving and at times more eloquent than some contemporary routinesTime and time again it has been proven that the choreography and even the music can make or break a routineSo each week we will turn the tables on the choreographers critiquing their dances Here39s a look at the choreography from the top 14 Justin Giles Top 7 boys Justin Giles made a great first impression opening the show with a strong boy39s group number that chronicled the seven stage of grief Top 7 boysRay Leeper jazz Melanie and Marko Another new choreographer What happened to some of our old favorites Leeper39s style is too similar to Sonya Tayeh39s in my opinion and did nothing to highlight Melanie and Marko39s pure talentShaun Evaristo hip hop Sasha and Alexander New to the SYTYCD family Shaun Evaristo didn39t make a great first impression Nigel Lythgoe called the routine hip hop 101 But not all the blame should be put on Evaristo While Sasha has been a standout she has been carrying Alexander who in my opinion has been the weakest of the male dancers week after weekToni Redpath Waltz Jordan and Tadd It39s always hard to criticize a ballroom number especially the Waltz This one in particular was especially boringJustin Giles Clarice and Jesse In his second routine of the night Giles once again impressed with a lyricalcontemporaryhip hop fusion Travis Wall praised Giles39 quotmusicalityquotLiz Lira salsa Ashley and Chris The world salsa champion Liz Lira called this routine the quottoughestquot dance she has choreographed I39m not going to blame this mess of a dance on the choreographer Chris and Ashley tried really hard but were awkward for the most partChucky Klapow jazz Ryan and Ricky Another weird jazz routine seriously why aren39t the producers finding someone that does a style different than Sonya39s Ryan and Ricky easily pulled off the number but it wasn39t hot tamale worthyMandy Moore contemporary Caitlynn and Mitchell Leave it to the vets This is the perfect example of what happens when all the stars align Moore39s routine to Celine Dion39s quotTo Love You Morequot sat perfectly with these beautiful contemporary dancers reminiscent of a routine she choreographed in Season 2 for Ivan and AllisonRay Leeper jazz Top 7 girls The girls routine couldn39t hold a light to the boy39s number Here39s hoping this is Leeper39s first and last time choreographing I don39t care if Travis has trained with him since he was 9Jeanine Poggi is a financial journalist by day TV addict by night She started her blog Too Much To Tivo in April 2010 as a way to dish about her favorite shows and characters The series currently recording on her TiVo include So You Think You Can Dance The Big Bang Theory Vampire Diaries True Blood and American Idol Jeanine can be reached at jpoggitoomuchtotivocomRead all Jeanine39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Too Much To TiVoCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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SYTYCD: So You Think You Can Choreograph? - Jeannine Poggi

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