So You Think You Can Dance (Season 8) (1 Viewer)

[Josh Dial]

Just a reminder that the 8th season kicks off this week, on May 26th.


Nigel has changed the format slightly, blending the top 20 system we saw in season 2-6, with the All-Stars pairing system from last season.


Also, Mia Michaels is gone, and Mary Murphy is back in. Hopefully Wade Robson does a few more routines this year.


Regardless, this show kicks American Idol's ass at any stage, and I'm looking forward to this season.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I always enjoy the audition episodes that open the season for SYTYCD, and tonight was no exception.

It's a shame a lot of the stylized dancers are not into choreography, so they get left behind.


I didn't think the girl with the crappy dad had enough in the tank to compete with the other, better female dancers we saw tonight, but she made it through choreography.


Amber might be "too" much to handle, but let's see if she can harness her quirkiness and make it work for her.


The grandma segment was gold.


I don't remember Ryan (the girl who made it to the round of 24 last season) at all.


The girl with the Rich last name has some serious hops on her.

 

[PatW]

Yeah, I've always loved the auditions. I hope Mary keeps her screaming to a minimum. She gives great advice but she can be annoying at times. No more hot tamale trains please.


I'm hoping the Asian ballet dancer who was injured last year, is back as Nigel promised. He was awesome last year.

 

[Josh Dial]

One thing I noticed is that the girl who balanced (poorly) the sabre on her head was in the "worst dancers" montage, yet also clearly in the choreography round


Once again my only real complaint with the audition rounds is that we are shown next-to-nothing from the choreo round. I want to see the entire routine, and a few of the "maybes" from the day try it. Can't we see one less dancer and their story in lieu of this?


Regarding the all stars this season, I wonder if we'll see Mark back: he's been dancing (often clearly the head dancer) with Lady Gaga since 2010. Also, Will Wingfield? Those dreads looked stupid. Hopefully Katee's spot teaching the choreo round will continue into the show proper as an all star.

 

[DaveF]

I was introduced to this show last summer when my niece-in-law visited; she's a fan. I'm Tivo-ing it this year and will give it a shot. I enjoyed the auditions; there were some very good performances.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Originally Posted by PatW

Yeah, I've always loved the auditions. I hope Mary keeps her screaming to a minimum. She gives great advice but she can be annoying at times. No more hot tamale trains please.


I'm hoping the Asian ballet dancer who was injured last year, is back as Nigel promised. He was awesome last year.

Indeed. In fact, I haven't watched the episode yet, but I was telling company about him and the bad luck he's had. I think the first time, he couldn't get out of his ballet contract. The 2nd time he gets injured. But I can't believe they'd make him go through auditions again. But maybe I'm wrong. I don't really remember the details anymore. In my mind, he already has one of the spots on the live show without going through the audition process.


I think I read somewhere Mary had issues with her vocal chords (cancer maybe?) so she wouldn't be yelling as much this season.

 

[Patrick Sun]

We're talking about Alex, right? Him and Twitch had that monster number before Alex went down with the injury last year. Hope he's back as well.

 

[Hanson]

Mary Murphy confirmed in an interview that Alex is still rehabbing and wasn't cleared by medical. So I assume that means no Alex this season, not even as an All Star.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Did Alex blow out his Achilles? That takes about 18 months to fully heal, so I could buy that tidbit.

 

[PatW]

Well that's a bummer. I was really looking foward to seeing Alex this year. If I'm remembering correctly Nigel did say he would have a ticket to the live shows and didn't have to go through the auditions. It's better for him though to get healthy so perhaps we'll see him next year if he's still not quite ready this year.

 

[Hanson]

Nigel said something to the effect of, "we'll see" when asked about Alex. There is a recent video of him performing, but perhaps he's not up to the rigors of the competition. I suspect that Alex will be be back as a choreographer this season, which I assume means he won't be able to compete anymore.

 

[TonyD]

Every other season or so I try and give this show a look, then I hear that woman screaming and I see her and get completely turned off and can't watch another minute. Last season I watched a good portion and was able to hang in for it, but not this time Mary Murphy just annoys me to being unwatchable. Since there is some talk that she won't be screaming so much maybe I'll watch for awhile. Seriously though is anyone tuning in for her and that noise she makes?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

My mother is a big fan of this show, but she has to DVR it every time so she can skip through the Mary bits. Truly one of the most obnoxious personalities ever to grace America's television screens.

 

[Steve_Tk]

I just skip her, in fact, I skip most of the judges commentary during the actual competition.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Looks like a strong top 20 this season, as long as the guys are able to toss around their lady partners when required.

 

[Josh Dial]

That was pretty much the best "unveiling" episode out of any musical reality show I've seen. No real false drama set up, no real wasted time, and some really good performances. In particular, the Stacey Tookey's contemporary group number, and Christopher Scott's Top 10 Guys hip-hop number.


It was hard to focus on just on dancer--at least enough to form concrete opinions--but based on last night's show and the audition round, early standouts for me are Jordon, Melanie, Ryan, and Marko. Miranda's performance in the final number caught my eye, too. Iveta has a truly impressive resume, and I can't wait to see her perform.


Overall, the girls seem to have the advantage this year, which, of course, means the show will ultimately choose its winner from the guys

 

[Patrick Sun]

These dancers are in mid-season form already. It'll be tough to send the dancers home week after week.

 

[DaveF]

I'm watching from the start, for the first time this season. It's a surprisingly good show. I really like the professionalism and sincerity of the judges and the overall production. While I also like America's Got Talent, I grow weary of its obsession with banal, no-talent silliness. In contrast, Dance spends very little time on inferior performers, and doesn't patronize its performers (whether to buck up the incapable or excessively fawn over one-hit wonders). Nigel clearly wants to find the best, make them better, and have the best possible talent performing on TV. And the judges -- despite some annoying screeching from Mary -- are likewise working from the same playbook. There's no silly Howie vs Piers theatrics, as on AGT.



What I don't understand with the show is: What does the top dancer win?

 

[Citizen87645]

There's a monetary prize, plus of course the recognition within a very tight professional community. Dancers from the show (winners or not) have appeared in many film and television shows over the years (e.g. I recently spotted Mark in Lady Gaga's SNL performance). The most famous former SYTYCD alum is Heather Morris from Glee (though I don't think she got very far in the competition). There's also no telling how much work they do that is not televised or filmed.


I started watching the show for the very same reasons as you Dave. It's nice to see actual talent and a clear interest by judges to give constructive feedback and build up the industry by exposing fresh talent.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I think it's the title of America's favorite dancer for this season, and $250,000 top prize, and a lot of air time on Fox in the summer.