Tuesday, June 24, 2014

So You Think You Can Dance - 11x04 "Auditions #4"

From the first episode -- where I was readying on obituary for my relationship with this show -- to now, I've changed my opinion on the upcoming season nearly a full 180. The two middle episodes are spectacularly exciting, and while this last audition isn't as rich with beautiful dancing, it's still elevated by the auditioners who go beyond the over-played competition style. For instance, though I wasn't moved by the aesthetic elements of their solos, we see a couple of fantastically athletic dancers in Kelly MacCoy (who is, considering her spotlight-loving parents, hilariously monosyllabic) and Marissa Milele (whose solo sputters out at the end but after those superheroics, I'm not surprised).

And yet, even if neither of them had auditioned, this audition would've been something to remember. Erik "Silky" Moore for starters kicks out a scintillating audition that is so tight that the music seems to be spun out of his body. And then there's Cristina Moya-Palacios -- nuff said.

To return to Silky for the moment, I've picked up on another non-dance quality that this show measures, which is to say a dancer's ability to put up with an obnoxious impresario's intrusive whims. Nigel interrupts Silky's solo after it's already begun, which I think is the height of rudeness; Silky is charismatic enough to roll with it, though -- ticket to VEAGS wherever it is they go now for the callbacks. On the other hand, Branden Feimster, AKA Sideshow, fails at Nigel's interjections -- true enough that he's not locking (original in this case translates to the originality of Sideshow's style), but rather than give the kid a benefit of the doubt, Nigel has no problem giving him plenty of rope with which to hang himself.





Either the dancers are getting smaller, or Cat is getting taller.

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