I'm not going to go into great detail about the awesomeness of So You Think You Can Dance Canada.
But I will say a little about why I am such a massive, unapologetic fan of the SYTYCD franchise. Dancers in general are the Canadians of the entertaiment world. Its underappreciated, unsung heros. They risk injury and anonymity for their art, all for the glory of maybe getting a job as background on a Janet Jackson tour. So I'm all for anything that gives them a bit of the stardom they deserve.
Here's last year's front runner, the incontestably hot Montreal dancer, Nicholas "Nico" Archambault.
And here's hoping he'll help all you disappointed American Idol fans move on to a better place: the new season of SYTYCD America, which started last week.
If you watched this clip all the way through to the end, I don't need to establish that Jean Marc Genereux is pretty much the Paula Abdul of SYTYCD(CA). Still, I let him pick the next dance because it is a showstopper.
Even though Nico never lost the hearts of the tween girls who also drive this show, my personal favourite was another Quebecois, Vincent Noiseux. Not as obviously sexy as Nico, but a great dancer. Unfortunately he and his partner,Lisa, mess up this wonderfully narcissistic samba at the end, leaving the door open for Mary Murphy with a classic piece of SYTYCD judging theatre:
Okay. Enough hotness. Time for the tears. Just like its older American cousin, this wouldn't be SYTYCD without at least one judge breaking down into heaving hyperbolic sobs. That said, this is a lovely piece.
But those cold hearted tweens just weren't moved to pick up the phone, leaving the stage clear for Nico, who did, at least, earn it. Anyone who watches SYTYCD is well familiar now with the kiss of death, the dreaded Quickstep. Insanely difficult, this dance is notorious for making every dancer who isn't a seasoned ballroom competitor look like a lead footed dufus. Here's Nico chanelling Gene Kelly with a Mohawk.
If you've made it this far you're probably either Canadian, a So You Think You Can Dance addict, or you have a crush on Nico (no shame. I have one too, even though I'm committed to Vincent.)
So I'm allowed to include this clip of nothing but judges, Canadian and American, gushing over Nico in a way that makes the AI judges on Adam Lambert sound almost neutral. Okay almost nothing. There is one minute at the beginning where another judge breaks down and cries about Natalli.
However, feel free to skip this and go straight to another clip of my personal favourite, Vincent.
Or the bonus dance for the Nico crowd..
Because they messed up the Samba I felt it only fair to include this clip of Vincent and Lisa attempting a deceptively difficult House routine the next week. Vincent couldn't even pronounce it, so I was nervous. ("owse!"...how cute is that). But this time they aced it...
Finally, here's the piece that catapulted Nico into the lead forever...And no, that's not Adam Lambert singing.
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I watched last season and was astonished, given our lesser population, how we came up with as many and as good contestants.
And B1, I am now looking up that word.
Care for some Pavlova?
And I agree that dancers get no recognition for what is one of tz.he hardest gigs in show biz.
And I agree that dancers get no recognition for what is one of the hardest gigs in show biz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcCPaKAWQD8&feature=related
Emma, Thanks for watching. I don't expect people to watch these all the way through, but I'd hate for people to get the wrong idea about Nico. He was phenomenal, and seemed to be a really authentic guy. Plus he's a Montrealer so I was secretly rooting for him too (sorry Vincent.)
Vincent was better technically. But there were few tears when he was eliminated because Mia Michaels (probably the most money making choreographer in the U.S.) offered him a job on the spot. So his career is about as set as any dancer's can be, unless he hurts himself.
Who are the ballet stars of today, or the dancing "stars"? I cannot name a prima ballerina, can you? The only name that comes to mind is Margot Fonteyn.
For me modern dance in America will always be defined by Martha Graham. But who has taken up these mantles?
Nureyev is of course dead, but I understand that Baryshnikov is very active in the dance world in all aspects, still dancing himself as well as choreographing and managing a company.
We (the populace) hear nothing about them. And perhaps the use of the word hear is very telling. Trying to communicate dance is far more complex than sharing a piece of music with someone.
Have we lost our patience for fine, artistic dance expression?
The one girl I don't have a clip of, unfortunately, was Allie, a ballerina who actually came in second to Nico. She was a wonderful foil to his superhotness. Delightfully wholesome. They were like Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds together. I put a youtube link up for Ablonde if you want to check it out.
Trivia: did you know that Melanie the choreographer was on a reality show herself? She did an episode of "What not to wear", I also checked out some old videos of her dancing and she was such a star! One more trivia on Melanie: Two years ago one of the female dancers got sick and she stepped in and danced and I even think the male partner was Dimitry! Anyway, i am a true fan! Thanks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLvkRz5eYq8&feature=related
(even tho you remembered it was Pacha and not Dimitry) thanks so much for the link. After some gardening I will be on youtube for a while watching the Canada show. Also, cant blame me for confusing those gorgeous and more gorgeous Russian male dancers. :)
Hey, do you want to share the weekly SYTYCD American recap with me?! Do you get the show in Canada? I would LOVE it and I think it would be so much fun.
See I have all the judging lingo down...
no rhythm. You Canadians, being closer to the
equator, in Cental...um...America...receive the rhythms of
the jungle, the birds, the snakles warbling in their lairs,
the tigers prowling sinuously, etc....You are naturally better dancers than we,
so please have some mercy on us,
even though you were fairly complementary...
Jim.rated