American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance judges: How do they compare?
The Daily News has put together an article comparing the judges from American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance which confirms what I’ve been feeling all along: So You Think You Can Dance is the superior competition show.
Take a look at the comparisons after the jump.
The Mean British Judge: Simon Cowell Vs. Nigel Lythgoe
Both judges are respected because they never sugarcoat their critiques. But when a performance is undeniably good,they give credit where credit is due. But the difference lies in Cowell’s “delight in squashing the dreams of pop hopefuls,” a sadistic pleasure Lythgoe doesn’t enjoy himself. The article points out that Lythgoe is genuinely interested in getting the contestants to improve. I agree with that. Nigel wants those who don’t make the Top 20 to take classes and get better, then come back and try again next year. Twitch on this season’s show is great example of that. He didn’t make the Top 20 last year as the judges opted to go with beat boy b-boy Hok. But after taking some dance lessons, Twitch is on the show and Nigel never misses a chance to congratulate him on his growth.
There is one thing I can’t stand about both these judges. I hate how frequently hey both use superlatives in their comments. “You just won the competition.” “You’re the person to beat.” “You’re the best hip-hop dancer I’ve ever seen.” It takes away from the compliment when it’s used too often.
The Halfwitted Brunettes: Paula Abdul Vs. Mary Murphy
The Daily News says that the one thing Paula Abdul and Mary Murphy share is that they both comment too much on the contestants’ appearance. I’d like to add that they’re both completely annoying. I’m still trying to perfect my timing on the mute button for when Mary screams or tells someone they’ve got a ticket on the mystical “hot tamale train.” What the hell is hot tamale train and where does it take you? And then there’s Paula — if she could find it in herself to do a taping sober, she might give some good feedback. John Rich of Nashville Star thinks she’s downright disrespectful to contestants with how nonsensical her commentary is.
The main difference between the irritating brunettes is that Murphy actually criticizes the performances when she thinks they were, er, hot tamale trainwrecks. The article sums it up, “Murphy is a ballroom-dancing champion, so she actually knows what she’s talking about. Abdul sang “Opposites Attract” next to a cartoon of MC Skat Kat.” Ouch.
The Third Wheel: Randy Jackson Vs. The Rotating Third Judge
Lastly, the article compares Randy Jackson to the rotating third judges on SYTYCD (i.e. Mia Michaels, Dan Karaty, Shane Sparks, Wade Robson). According to the Daily News, the purpose of these judges is “to help the viewer understand the technical aspects of what the contestants have accomplished, whether it’s singing off pitch or dancing too flexed.” After all, Randy Jackson is an accomplished producer who knows talent when he hears it. And the rotating judges on SYTYCD are at the top of their industry. All of them are highly sought-after choreographers. They give master classes all around the country. And some of them even have their own dance companies. Debbie Allen, a dance icon, has her own dance academy in Los Angeles. Mia Michaels founded and is the artistic director for her company RAW. Hunter Johnson and his wife/dance partner Maria own their own school in Houston, TX.
Here’s the difference though: those choreographers on So You Think You Can Dance make their living mostly by choreographing or teaching (not just by cashing in on a summer reality show). All of those choreographers are serious working performance artists — all of them embedded in the trenches of their industry. Yes, I know Randy Jackson had an album come out this year (it debuted at 50 on Billboard and sold 13, 000 copies its first week). But it seems to me like Randy got on the Idol gravy train (another train!) and focused his talents elsewhere. For example, he produces America’s Best Dance Crew for MTV.
Just one more thing … Cat Deeley is way better than Ryan Seacrest.
So, I put it to you for discussion. Which show has the best judges? Which are more helpful? More entertaining?
So You Think You Can Dance Returns Tonight! Get Five Reasons to Watch
It’s baaack! And it’s about flippin’ time! So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD to those of us who are old friends) returns tonight, and not a moment too soon. (Where has all the good TV gone?)
If you have never watched SYTYCD or if you think you aren’t a dance-show kind of person, I urge you to give it a shot. This is outstanding television! Never seen it? Need some encouragement? Read on to find out why you must watch!
Five Reasons to Watch So You Think You Can Dance
1. Talent: Even the best Dancing With the Stars amateurs (and hell, some of the pros) have nothing on these kids. The So You Think You Can Dance contestants will make you weep they’re so good. Outside of Project Runway and, you know, Idol, I don’t think any other reality talent show on TV has such legitimately top-drawer talent in play.
2. Trials and Troubles: You want character-based drama? Tune in to SYTYCD for that, in the form of stoic Eastern European ballroom dancers learning how to pop and lock, hip-hop studs figuring out the foxtrot, and classically trained ballerinas getting humped on stage by their partners. It’s gold, people, I’m telling you.
3. Cat Deeley: You Brits out there know her well, as she’s been all over U.K. TV for 10 years, give or take, but you ’murricans might not be familiar with her general awesomeness. A mother hen to all her little dancer chicks, not to mention a smooth and smart host in the vein of Ryan Seacrest himself, Cat keeps the show centered and grounded when judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy are flying off the handle, and she’s certainly the warmest and sweetest personality on the show at any given time. All respect to crunchy-granola genius choreographer Mia Michaels, of course.
4. Mormon Mafia: Gotta love those LDS swing kids. According to Cat Deeley, Utah is America’s current world capital of dance, and certainly past SYTYCD stars like Benji, Lacey, Heidi and Allison would make the case that expelling all that sexual energy though dance is a great way to keep the kids celibate and the dance floor jumpin’. In other dance dynasty news, what are the chances that Denise Wall has another kid? Because after Travis Wall and Danny Tidwell, I’d love to see more from that clan!
5. Nigel: Love him or hate him, SYTYCD’s imperious dance master knows how to produce a damn fine television show. Now, click in to see some of his handiwork, in the form of a few of the best dances heretofore, and then pick your favorite season ever in the poll! (The correct answer is season two, but I’ll let you make your own call…)
Last but not least, tune in to the So You Think You Can Dance season premiere tonight on Fox at 8!
Blake McGrath solo, season one
“Ramalama (Bang Bang),” choreographed by Wade Robson, season two
“Poison,” choreographed by Shane Sparks, season two
Allison and Ivan contemporary, choreographed by Tyce DiOrio, season two
Danny and Lacey samba, choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin, season three
Sabra and Neil jazz, choreographed by Mandy Moore, season three
So You Think You Can Dance: Charleston and Washington, D.C. auditions
(S04E03) Last night we joined Cat, Nigel, Mary, and Tyce in Charleston, South Carolina for more auditions. I, for one, am getting sick of the two-hour audition shows already. We talked about this last week and I have to point it out again: maybe if they showed more dancing, these audition shows would be better.
Cat assured us at the beginning of the program that Charleston would not disappoint as SYTYCD went there in season two. Who did they find in South Carolina? Natalie, Dimitri, finalist Heidi and none other than Travis Woll, season two’s runner-up. In the second hour, Mary and Nigel headed to D.C. where they were joined by Dan.
Find out what happened in both cities after the jump.
I don’t have too many dancers in my first section. Like I said, I’m getting sick of the auditions. I think my excitement from the premiere last week has waned a bit. Feel free to leave your favorite / least favorite dancers in the comments.
And I must address something Jason said after Wednesday night. Of course, because he’s my tag team SYTYCD partner, I want to disagree with him about Mary. It would be a healthy debate and I encourage you readers to chime in. But, I think what he said about the screaming judge was spot on. She is a personality that grows on you. And, if they keep the screaming and laughing to a minimum in the final edit of each episode, I may end up liking Mary Murphy. Moreover, she is indeed a fair critic. But I don’t think I’ve found a judge who isn’t on this show. It’s the main reason I prefer SYTYCD to Idol.
Most Interesting / Entertaining of the Night:
Let’s start with the end of the show. I am so happy that Anthony, the Juliard ribbon dancer from season one, came back for more abuse. This time he wore camos (an attempt at being more masculine, presumably) and did a piece he called “dynamic” and “in your face.” It was neither. As Nigel put it, Anthony just doesn’t have that spark. He is a tremendous technical dancer, but he just doesn’t have enough personality. Still, the judges put him through to choreography. In the end, he didn’t make it to Vegas. Anthony acted professionally and graciously in front of the judges, thanking them for the opportunity. However, he wept on Cat’s shoulder and cursed about his shoes shortly afterwards. He continued his antics all the way down the block, barefoot the whole time.
My favorite female audition of the night was Courtney, whose grandparents accompanied her to the audition. She joked about her loud Italian family in her interview. Then she took the stage. Gorgeous girl. Gorgeous body. Gorgeous dancing. My favorite male audition was BJ, who came to the auditions with ten bucks and left with…er, just ten bucks, unfortunately. He had such interesting movements starting with a weird foot shuffle in second position plié, followed by a crazy leg vibration and “speed skating” jumps from side to side. Mary exclaimed, “You had some extraordinary moves that I have never seen before.” And she was right.
Best Outfit of the Night:
This one is a tie between Syiddah and Jason (who asked to be called Betty). Syiddah looked like a cross between Rainbow Brite and the lion from The Wizard of Oz (post-primping in the Emerald City). Jason wore ill-fitting puke-pink trousers, a silver and black sequined blouse, and runny make-up.
Best Song of the Night:
No one had really memorable music tonight. However, I liked the music that Brandon used (the guy who lied about his age the first season). It was an orchestral piece and complimented his strong movement. And Jason (Betty) dancing to Paula Abdul was pretty funny.
Best Line of the Night:
I’ve got to give it Nigel on this one. After Jason (Betty) finished his audition, the judge expressed his revulsion: “Not only are you a disgrace to dancing, you’re a disgrace to tranvestites.” Nigel followed with, “You are the reason why so many fathers don’t like their sons dancing.” Ouch.
Going to Vegas:
Sheila, a freshman at the University of Georgia, missed a whole day at school to be at the auditions. Her father wasn’t happy about the skipping class. Looks like he’ll have something to be really angry about; Sheila will be missing even more school when she goes to Vegas.
Jeremiah, the slightly unhinged contemporary dancer, made it too. After he said, “My most negative feature should be that I’m human,” in his interview, I really wanted him to be bad. But he wasn’t, much to my chagrin. So, Jeremiah and his attitude are going to Vegas.
Twins Anthony and Antwain are going to Vegas. Anthony auditioned and was mediocre. Antwain auditioned and was slightly better. They both auditioned and were electric. They made it through the choreography and they’re going to Vegas.
Courtney, my favorite female audition of the night, is going to Sin City too.
Markus, who danced for his departed mother, got a ticket. He did a weird combination of contemporary and hip-hop to Elliot Yamin’s “Wait For You” that he choreographed himself. Nigel complimented his musicality, but questioned his facial expression, saying he looked disappointed with himself.
Megan, who threw her head around too much, got through to Las Vegas. She came to the try-outs with her biggest fan, her aunt.
Brandon (I mentioned him above) got a ticket to the next round. After he finished dancing, Dan said, “I don’t think I know anyone who can do that routine.” The piece did indeed look very difficult, replete with several turn sequences, leaps, and balances. He’s pictured above in an attitude derrière.
And then there’s Claire. You readers were asking about her last week. And you were right. Nigel’s invitation to go straight to Vegas only applied to last season. Since Claire had a baby last year, she missed out and had to start from scratch this year. Her audition was lackluster as she mostly just walked around on relevé and shook her booty, a skinny booty at that. But, after performing Travis’ choreography, the new mom made it through to Vegas.
Jason and I will see you next week! If you want to watch some of Thursday’s auditions, check this blog out.
So You Think You Can Dance: Salt Lake City and Dallas Auditions
(S04E02) To comment on Kristin’s thoughts on So You Think You Can Dance judge Mary Murphy, I think she brings a much needed level of fun and energy to the show. Promoting her to full time judge was one of the smartest moves the show could have made as she has a level of technical know-how when it comes to the classical styles of dance that the other judges just can’t speak to.
And as silly as her screaming can get at times, she’s still a fair critic. I guess I’ll say she’s grown on me as I didn’t care for her before she went full-time. Maybe she’s just one of those personalities you learn to appreciate more over time. For the Utah auditions, long-time show choreographer Mandy Moore joined the judging panel for the first time. The “table routine” from last season that she choreographed was one of last year’s highlights, so her pedigree comes well appreciated. Hairspray choreographer Adam Shankman was the third judge for the Dallas round.
There were a lot of dancers in these two cities so we’re not going to necessarily touch on all of them or we might be here all day. If I miss someone then you can assume that means they didn’t impress me enough one way or the other. But feel free to chime in with your comments on them or anything else about the new season unfolding before our anxious little eyes. Little Sabra is going down, so to speak. Will we see the new champion tonight?
Highlights & Lowlights of Salt Lake City
Chelsie Hightower opened the show and came packed with a “sob story” about her family’s financial struggles, and the sacrifices they’ve made to help her realize her dreams of dance. She couldn’t even afford a dance partner of her own. But when the music started, she was all seduction on the stage, exuding sensuality just walking across the stage. Her moves were sharp and she hit every movement. Her legwork was stunning, as were her legs themselves.
Ice skater/break-dancer Gev Manoukian didn’t make the show two years ago and spent the intervening time diversifying his abilities with jazz, ballet and contemporary training. What he created then was a strange hybrid of all four styles, with perfect body control throughout. In one routine Gev showed the judges that he is fully capable of virtually anything they could show him; I don’t think anyone has done that yet. He was mesmerizing to watch and one of my early favorites, though the judges needed to see him in choreography before he could go to Vegas.
Others who were good enough to earn their tickets to Vegas:
- Kelli Baker is the daughter of one of the High School Musical choreographers, so expectations were high. She had absolutely beautiful line work in her body; a perfect mix of grace and strength and owned every inch of the stage as she flowed across it.
- Ryann Race was tall and lean, and performed in a style somewhat similar to Cedric Gardner from last season. This strip club DJ was using his dance to work out his feelings for his girlfriend. There was a lot of potential in his movement, but it was more messy in execution than I would have liked. He made it through to the choreography round and then to Vegas.
And the not-so-best of the rest:
- Native American Michael Moore had a background video spotlighting the heritage that his family honors, but he himself rejects. In fact, he went more for street dancing, which he apparently performed entirely flat on his back. He had some legwork but it was sloppy and didn’t work at all. I love his sense of humor and how he made fun of those terrible dancers who say they teach dance.
- Queen of Charisma, Naomie Christensen thought it would be kind of interesting to be on the show. And she was on the show, just not for the reasons she may have thought. I’ll dub her “dancing” style, jogging … with style. We spent way too much time on her.
- Utah’s streets must be too cold and snow-covered for their street dancers to get enough practice in. Richard Castaneda had a slow seizure on the stage, Robert Taylo face planted on the stage, Nicole Downer looked and danced like a mother of four letting off steam in a club, and we saw a whole slew of other horrible dancers, more than we got last night. I appreciated the opportunity to see more dances, but would have liked more of the good ones as well.
Inspiring Story of the Night
Down’s Syndrome was the spotlight handicap of the night. I’m not trying to make light of the condition, but rather the fact that it’s become almost trite for SYTYCD to give air time to varying disabilities to show that you can do anything no matter what cards life has dealt you. I don’t even know if I can criticize them for doing this as it is inspirational to see these performers, but at the same time is it necessary to give us a blind dancer last week and Down’s Syndrome this week? Especially since none of these dancers are good enough to move on. Or maybe I’m just a cold-hearted bastard.
Highlights & Lowlights of Dallas
The music dictated the movements of Brian Davidson. There’s no room for choreography or fear in his world, so he fearlessly made an ass of himself not only on the Dallas stage but in front of all of America. He had way too much attitude and way too much camera time.
Popper Joshua Allen had some of the hardest hits I’ve ever seen on the SYTYCD stage. And his movements were so fast. When he went down and started doing some of his hand and aerial tricks he had me won over. This guy is in complete and total control of his body, owned his music and was amazing to watch. I was pleased to see him survive choreography and go to Vegas.
John Dix and Arielle Coker performed together and John did a good job of making Arielle look good. In fact, she was so beautiful in her partnering that other than being where she needed him to be, he all but disappeared from the stage. When they separated I saw him and wanted him to disappear again as he was awkward and stilted in his movements, but Arielle was magical. Arielle went to Vegas while John went to choreography and then back home, where he seemed perfectly happy.
In Dallas we got a montage of the amazing dancers, and there were some amazing moves on display. But why did we only get a few seconds of who Nigel considered the “best female hip-hop dancer we’ve ever seen on the show.” I could have taken a lot less of Steven Arner to make more room for her and a lot of these amazing dancers.
Others who were good enough to go home and stay there:
- Booty-shaking isn’t dancing. Cassidy Corder thinks it is. It isn’t. But it’s okay because neither was anything else she did. But she wasn’t alone. Brianna Gardner sat on the stage for awhile, Kayleigh Darling almost jumped off of it and if I had to sit and watch some of these auditions, I think I’d have to throw ballet shoes at them. Or maybe tap shoes; contact there would get them to stop.
- Steven Arner did a stupid hip-hop dance with a chair and his hair styled like Mickey Mouse. The judges explained to him how terrible he was and he got belligerent. But it wasn’t all it was hyped up to be.
Snuggle Fabric Softeners had to bring us the “happy dances” of the thirty-eight Dallas contestants who made it through because American Idol is already completely sold out so it’s time to move onto So You Think You Can Dance? Really? Can’t they just dance without somebody getting paid? Did they hire Ryann Race to DJ that bit? Tomorrow we go to Washington, DC and Charleston, SC.