So you think you can dance?

Got down to who will be in the final four next week...my girls Melanie and Sacha both made it...and Tadd and Marco are in it too. They are all so great, as the judges said at this point it doesn't make much difference who wins....because "Dance" has won from having their talents on display all these weeks. They will all have their careers jump started from this exposure and well deserved it is.

We don't normally watch the show but Craig did stop on it briefly. Who is the girl with the very short hair that has the killer smile? She has such a raw talent she gave me chills just watching her. She is headed for greatness.

Yes, that's Melanie. I knew from week one that it was hers to lose. Although I have to say that Sacha is also a phenomenal dancer. It has been a great season. I don't really think either guy stands a chance.

Last night was the finale and I still stand by what I think will happen. Although for the very first time, I saw Melanie dance badly. They had Mark Ballas choreograph a dance (was it a cha cha?? ) . So they throw her out there in a barely there Vegas showgirl outfit and she struggled to do the steps of what the judges called an overly complicated routine. Sasha also put a less than stellar ballroom dance out there. But when they let them do the contemporary styles they are good at...they were fantastic. So....odd finale, disappointing in a way but I still think I saw the season of the best dancers ever, I wish them all luck tonight.

Ah, just as I thought. Melanie was voted "America's favorite dancer" . All's right with the world. But the judges did go heavy on the "no one is a loser here....you have all grown and improved and made great memories and contacts. This will be life changing for all of you" . But that was good because it is very true. And they all seemed to really be cheering each other on. It was good.

New Season starting tonight! I actually like this show better than DWTS!

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They showed the auditions in NYC and Dallas last night. Performances ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. The stand-outs in my mind were a 29 year old mom from Texas who put her dancing on hold while she married and had 2 children. The kids are still young, but she's taking her shot...and she is GOOD. So she's going to Vegas.
And there was a guy, looked a bit spooky and he said that when he dances he takes your pain and anxiety and works it and then it is gone and you feel better. That struck the judges as odd and as he started dancing Mary (the judge) was laughing that annoying laugh of hers. But the thing is the guy is a complete original. No one had ever seen dancing of that intensity. His hands are incredibly expressive and he was so focussed. It looked like he was doing exactly what he said he does. Mary was in tears. Nigel said he was an artist and possibly a genius...and said that no matter what the other judges voted, this guy was going to Vegas because Nigel would pay for it himself!
Will be very interesting to see if this guy can accept the other dance styles that will be thrown at him. But like Nigel said, one just felt honored to have watched what he did last night.

Don't take this as a criticism of the show, after all different strokes for different folks, etc. but the reason I don't watch it or any of the singing shows is that we have to wade through too much amateurish stuff before it's narrowed down to the potential professionals.

Well, they have a few days of auditions in the beginning of the season but I feel they get down to the top 20 and then top 10 pretty quickly. Once you are there the level of skills is pretty awesome (if you like dance, which I do) . And tonight for the first time they are going to choose 2 winners...a male and a female. My money is on Eliana and Cheton who were professional ballet dancers with their years of training. Although melissa, the girl next door and the guy with no training at all but who taught himself an animatronic technique that got him on the show in the first place are both really appealing as dancers and as people and I will not be surprised if America voted for them. I thought it was an excellent season. Am excited to see it play out tonight.

For those who are into dance, Season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance begins tonight! It'll just be the auditions for awhile. These showcase raw talent and a lot of hilariously bad tryouts ...and sometimes you see something that is really hard to categorize.

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The one thing that is hard to watch is when they ask them to work in small groups. They expect these dancers to choreograph a number and push them to stay up all night to do it. They practice in the halls. Concrete floors out there. And we watched one exhausted young man take his hands off his partner while she was hanging upside down. So we got to see her dropped on her head. She spent the rest of the night in the hospital and still returned in time to perform that same number the next day. They made that young man feel that he had done something unforgivable. To me in the audience it seemed like the kind of mistake exhausted people who are being pushed to do too much make. They passed him thru one more round but at the end eliminated him saying "It's not always about your dancing." I would like to see the judges and trainers take some responsibility for not providing safe circumstances for these "practices" to take place.

So they picked their top 20 last week and tonight they eliminated one male and one female. They have a new format which seems pretty odd. They do their eliminations at the beginning of the show...but they still expect the eliminated people to dance with those they were partnered with. It must be so hard to do that and give your best when you know it's all over for you.

Still they have some lovely dancers and some fun ones. So enjoyable to watch. I have 3 or 4 favorites already. Hope they go the long haul.  

I don't watch the show but this : They do their eliminations at the beginning of the show...but they still expect the eliminated people to dance with those they were partnered with.....is also my biggest beef with beauty pageants. They narrow the field down to 12, for example, then have a big production number where all 50 contestants are required to participate. Why should the other 38 be expected to smile/dance/sing when they know they are going home empty handed. It is brutal exploitation and I say STOP IT !!!!   

Well, I think the beauty pageant girls just have to walk, they don't even really have to smile. That gives them time to have their friends and family see them on tv and that's nice.

But to have to partner someone in a dance routine takes a lot of concentration and a bad partner could absolutely sabotage someone else. Fortunately, I didn't see that happen as both eliminated people gave it their best and really left many in the audience wondering "Why him/her?" But that's the nature of competition...someone gets cut each week. But the way the partner of the guy being eliminated broke down in tears immediately following their routine...made me wonder if it is quite fair way to do this. Eliminations at the end of the show would work just as well. IMHO

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a good procedure. All the reality shows that I watch have the eliminations right at the end, and of course don't involve singing or dancing.

Which of these were eliminated ?

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Brittany, the girl in Photo#1` and Carlos, the male dancer in Photo #17. Neither of them was a bad dancer in any way but maybe they lacked a little of the charisma that whoever makes it to the end will have.

Tonight is a 2 hour SYTYCD where the top 4 perform for the last time.  

You will see some awesome performances tonight!  

It's a shame that someone else has the controls in our house. I saw bits and pieces but didn't see the end.

It's all in the hands of viewers now. The results show will be next week...meanwhile you can watch the finale dances here.

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SYTYCD returned last night. I was immediately caught up (as usual) . The dancer who got to my heart the most was eliminated immediately. That is...as a soloist he's great but when they put him in "choreography" it shows that he has no experience partnering with a girl...so he was cut.

The kid is so determined not to give up on his dream that he showed up in the next city to try out again. This time he made it (by the skin of his teeth) so I will have my fingers crossed that he is a fast learner. But the kid is all personality and heart-on-the-sleeve. I hope he sticks around.   

This show is back. And for awesome dance routines, it is the best dance show ever on tv. They are down to the final 14 and each dancer is soooo good it is already hard to lose anyone. This coming week they will eliminate 4!

Went to see the live tour of this past season's top 10. Wowzers, they are amazing dancers. Two hours of full on dancing and I don't think they were off stage for more than a few minutes at a time. Lots of group numbers. They did the best routines of the season and then some new "pop music" routines (All about the Bass and Taylor Swift's Shake it Off) . Was a great show.

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This was the best season ever. Any of the final four would have been deserving winners. But they made the right choice. This winner was amazing!