I will refrain from lapsing into total Clinton fangirl mode, but his speech at the DNC last night set me all a-swoon with hope and inspiration. To be clear, everything I feel for the former President is rooted in admiration of his many accomplishments, not the kind of admiration that would cause me to construct a frisbee of my underpants to be launched in his direction. This is solely a brain-crush. The man is brilliant, and if nothing else (and I personally think he's a lot else, but to elaborate would mean cutting into my precious dance show recap time) a truly gifted speaker.
But, like, way more important to the history of the universe is how I feel about a mediocre season of a dance competition. It's gonna get full-on erudite here, so best move on if you don't watch So You Think You Can Dance. You can skip on to the videos, attaboy. Ahem. So. As Season 9 draws to a close, I have to say it has not been my fave go-round. The top 20 had so much potential, but even though I have dancers I'm rooting for and some routines I liked, I haven't experienced much of that thrill, that intangible something that a really elevated routine provokes in me (often in tears form, der). It still makes me happier than 95% of current programming because these kids are tal-en-ted, it's just that the memories of former contestants are a bitch to try and top.
Last night the top 4 were announced, that's big stuff, meaning the finale is next week and there will be two winners. I don't have a problem with Cyrus being in the top 4 because even though he's not a great overall dancer, enough people liked him to vote for him, so in his way he earned his spot. I am, however, hoping that Chehon wins on the gentleman side. I always knew he was fantastic in his style, but he didn't really connect for me until a couple of weeks ago when he did a surprisingly good job with hip-hop, then last week's ridiculous solo and that insane Argentine Tango. I was all, "get yours, you tights wearing son-of-a-kooky-Swiss-couple." As an aside does his life story not kill you a little bit? What an amazing family.
And Eliana has been my favorite since auditions - she is one of the best dancers I've ever seen, hands down, so I'm happy and not shocked to see her go almost all the way. But Tiffany, she has been the stealth contestant for me. I never doubted she was a great dancer, but like I said, they're all great. She just didn't stand out. And here she is. Good on her. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out, and there's a performance show next week so there's a chance something could really move me.
Bullet points from last night's show:
-my favorite guest judge is a tie between Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Neil Patrick Harris (I don't count my beloved Adam Shankman as a guest, he's a dance pro), but Christina Applegate is getting up there for me. She nearly knows what she's talking about, and she's funny. Plus, she is gorgeous. I'll have what she's having.
-I like Cole, I'm OK with him going, but I have to say that last night was his night, performance wise. He was on top of his game, that werewolf solo was something I've never seen.
-I'm not seven feet tall and made of spun sugar and sunshine so I could never pull it off, but I loved Cat Deely's extremely crazy dress.
-Holy Jacked Benji Schwimmer! He looked so good, from a physically in-shape standpoint but also from some kind of inner light. He's always been a joy to watch, but I truly think coming out did wonders for him.
-The Cyrus/Comfort dubstep was off the hook. The drop! I learn so much from this show.
-Am I the only one who found Tyce's piece overrated (not a knock on the dancers, it just didn't move me)?
-Um, the proliferation of Hammer pants guys? Are we doing this again?
-I don't like to end on a WTF note when I have so much positive to say about the show, but can we please stop the whole "Sorry, Dad!" infantilizing thread when the female (only, ever, female) dancers are called upon to be sexy? These are women who want to be professional dancers, playing a role. That's their job. They should not be apologizing or making sure everyone knows they're not demonsluts. I'm not even going to kick the hornet's nest of gender disparity or how the whole father/daughter purity guardian dynamic makes me insane. Just, you know, you're doing your job and be a woman about it, even if you're just 18. Own it. The end.
Can't wait to see what awaits next week, for real.
All right, onto the unrelated music portion. Today I was torn between linking Squeeze and Husker Du, but then I remembered that posting these videos costs me nothing (thanks youtube, and artists), so why not both?
You are all welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment