'So You Think You Can Dance': Nigel Lythgoe says it's so — Mia Michaels is departing

As a "So You Think You Can Dance" fan, I didn't want to believe the news reported earlier today that Mia Michaels is leaving the U.S. version of the show, but sadly, producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe confirmed Mia's departure:

“We are thrilled to have given a talent such as Mia Michaels a platform to create Emmy Award-winning choreography. During the auditions this season she has helped choose the best, most diverse top 20 we have ever had. She knows that she is always welcome to return later this season or next. She’s chosen to move on to new challenges, and we will continue to support her and wish her all the best.”
 
Here's hoping she does return, as her choreography and appearances as a judge have provided some of the most entertaining and artistically moving parts of the show.

— Claire Zulkey

Photo credit: Fox

"So You Think You Can Dance": Almost there!

Oh, that "So You Think You Can Dance" is such a tease! After witnessing the seemingly disproportionate amount of pain and agony that went into the second half of Vegas callbacks, I was ready to see who made the cut! I don't want to have to wait a week. 

After the dancers made it through the first three rounds as shown last week, they were socked with a Laurie Ann Gibson jazz routine.  It looked very difficult, and when a dancer asked her a question, Gibson erupted with, "The audacity of you to ask me such a ridiculous question ... now dance!" It was pretty amazing. The dance did look intense, and I wish we had been able to see a fuller version of it. On this round the Lithuanian ballroom dancer Iveta Lukosiute got cut, along with same-sex ballroom dancer Willem de Vries. I'd be surprised if Russell Ferguson doesn't make the Top 20, though -- I almost can't believe that he's had no formal training, but whether he has or hasn't, he looks comfortable doing everything. And I am definitely excited that this season seems to have a healthy amount of hip-hoppers. 

On "American Idol," the best part of Hollywood Week is the group auditions, but "So You Think You Can Dance" fast-forwarded mostly through that part of it, stopping only to show an adorable Broadway number and another dance that Mia Michaels called "stupid" (she wasn't incorrect).

'So You Think You Can Dance': A chat with choreographer and judge Mia Michaels

“So You Think You Can Dance” fans know they’re typically in for a treat when Mia Michaels appears on the show, both for her memorable dances and her friendly outspokenness as a guest judge. As the sixth season moves on toward revealing its top 20, the Emmy-winning choreographer took the time to speak with us in the midst of working on the Canadian version of “SYTYCD.”  

What did you think of the fifth season of “So You Think You Can Dance”?
I have mixed feelings. It was definitely not my favorite year. I didn't do as much choreography as I usually do, and I wasn't completely inspired. Every season has its own feel and essence because of the kids, and last year was just -- I don't know, it wasn't as exciting as past seasons. The season before we had so many stars: Twitch [Boss], Kherington [Payne], Katee [Shean] and Joshua [Allen]. Everyone had their own distinct personality and look, and they were all very special. Season 3 for me was the best dancers; those were the prime dancers. This season, from what I gather from auditions, I predict should be one of the best. We just have to see if the great dancers and personalities make the top 20. It's just time, and between the shift in the show and the new set and the new time slot, I think it should be really good this year.

What will Adam Shankman bring as a judge?
He's going to bring Adam. I think that all the different opinions of all the different choreographers is going to be missed because I think you want to have all the different perspectives. I think it's important, but it's not my show. But he and Mary [Murphy] and Nigel [Lythgoe] have great chemistry together.

Last season, after you had some negative feedback for Brandon Bryant, did you feel any pressure, after Mary Murphy's emotional reaction against your comments, to be nicer to him?
They never told me not to say anything, but Mary and Debbie [Allen] were all about Brandon. His dance teacher was one of my students from Miami way back when, so there was history: I knew Brandon when he was a little boy. I never taught or trained him, but because he came from the lineage of my father's dance studio, I have more expectations from him. I compared him to Will [Wingfield], who was the same type of dancer, but look at the maturity and fluidity that Will brings. Brandon is so powerful, but he doesn't understand, maybe because of his age, how to connect movement as a mature dancer. More than anything he had a little bit of an attitude in Vegas that they didn't show: He was rolling his eyes and talking back to Lil C, and I am very old-school when it comes to my training. It's about the respect of the art and your peers and choreographer, and when that was going on I just lost it, and I was not happy about it, but I kept being hushed. So they edited it the way they wanted it to be. It's tough love, and when I did get to be with Brandon a couple of times we were able to talk it out and I could explain to him why I was so frustrated with him.

'So You Think You Can Dance': Viva Las Vegas!

Vegas baby, Vegas!  I hope you'll forgive me for such a trite phrase -- things got real tonight on "So You Think You Can Dance." 

I love when this show demonstrates just how hard the contestants work compared with, say, "American Idol" or "America's Next Top Model."  So you made it through to Vegas? So you made it through your second audition? Now try hip-hop with Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo! Now Latin with Louis Van Amstel! And you're still not done after that!

I'm already picking out my favorites for the top 20: I loved Ellenore Scott's funky, awkward, adorable genius dance -- you never see women giving humorous performances on this show, and she got a standing ovation. And something about krumper Russell Ferguson was very appealing when he first auditioned and I like him even more after he demonstrated how proficient he was at Latin especially with Lithuanian bombshell and ballroom champ Iveta Lukosiute. 

I was surprised that Tintin lookalike Teddy Tedholm got eliminated so early: The judges loved his shy-guy dance and harlequin dance, and I was surprised at how well he did at hip-hop, but he fell apart in Latin.  I was less surprised to see Ryan Kasprzak -- we all love the Kasprzak boys but I don't think he would have been nearly as successful as his brother Evan, and he was obviously struggling, both technically and in summoning command during the Latin part of the tryout.

I'm not mad, though: If Ryan and Teddy weren't good enough for this round, that just proves Mia Michaels' point: Season 6 is going to blow Season 5 out of the water.

-- Claire Zulkey

Photo: Judges Tyce Diorio, left, Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe. Credit: Fox

'So You Think You Can Dance': Love it live!

The "So You Think You Can Dance" live show will continue rolling through the country through mid-November, and last night I caught it at Chicago's United Center.  If you are interested in going and still haven't bought tickets, a word to the wise: splurge on the good seats.  Because I'm a cheapskate, I went for the second-tier seats, which would be just fine at a basketball or hockey game, but when you're watching one tiny dancer all alone on a stage from far away, it's kind of like watching it on TV. 

Of course, if you have already bought the cheap seats, don't despair: There's a lot of enjoyment to be had from the show. At the United Center, at least, a full and energetic crowd was present, with plenty of audience members hollering for their favorites (Phillip Chbeeb especially getting a lot of appreciation).  It's great, too, to see the dances in full without camera cuts like on the televised version. 

'So You Think You Can Dance': Standing out from the crowd (of super-talented hardworking people)

A ton of promising dancers auditioned on Tuesday's and tonight's episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance" — but only a select few really stood out from the crowd. This was the issue with last season — the dancers were all talented and seemed like nice people, but they failed to capture the audience as did the performers on Season 4.  I think the producers of the show know this, which is why last night Nigel Lythgoe called Amber Jackson's performance a bad word and made a face at her — because her dancing was great but she totally failed to engage the judges or audience — on an audition! 

Obviously, a lot of this is just editing — I'm sure each contestant is unique in his or her way, but I think longtime viewers of the show saw that the fan favorites of the series stood out early.

The bright spots of the last two nights all seemed to be in tonight's New Orleans audition episode: I like Justin Kenney, the risk-taking break-dancer, just because in many ways he didn't look like most of the people on the show — he was tall and resembled Jakob Dylan with ear spacers.  Kimalee Piedad also brought something new to the stage with her theater arts/ballroom genre and the ridiculous lifts she was a part of. And I liked Diana Drexler too — not just because her grandfather died and she danced through it, but because she has spunk. 

Jakob Karr, on the other hand, was a dancer the judges loved, but the audience didn't get to hear him speak a word, so who knows if he'll be fun to watch on the show. 

One more week of auditions and then we'll see if all this talent translates to good TV. Speaking of auditions and talent, Thursday I will be interviewing Adam Shankman, so if you "SYTYCD" fans have questions about the show in general, his choreographing or new judge seat, please leave them in comments and I'll see if I can pass them on to him.

— Claire Zulkey

Photo: "So You Think You Can Dance" judge Adam Shankman. Credit: Fox

'So You Think You Can Dance': No flash photography

Don't worry, you can uncover your eyes now when watching "So You Think You Can Dance": TMZ reported that FOX's standards and practices department was brought in to evaluate a particular contestant's performance from last night's episode, determining that what was aired in all its glory was just "a crease in the young lady's panties" after some bloggers claimed that a little more was on display.

Based on how much the dancers show off their, um, flexibility, we're just surprised this is the first time someone has claimed the dancers left "too much" on the stage.

-- Claire Zulkey

"So You Think You Can Dance": Bringing it in Beantown

It seems that Phoenix was just a fluke week, as the potentially great dancers of Season 6 showed up en masse for the "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions in Boston. So many promising dancers! At the end of last season we saw a glimpse of Teddy Tedholm, who somehow managed to dance like an awkward dork and make it look amazing. If we didn't already know he would make it through, he would have seemed like a weirdo with his goofy personality and loud pants -- but he got a standing ovation from the others who were auditioning.

It would be great if this season could represent more hip-hop dancers, and we saw a few tonight, including Jean Lloret, who did a "Matrix"-like slow-motion move, on his hands, and elicited two slow-motion replays and three tickets to Vegas without a word from the judges I also liked Russell Ferguson, the krumper -- I liked his moves and he just generally cut a cool figure onstage. 

Though I wouldn't say I have a bias against pretty, fresh-faced blond jazz/contemporary dancers, I wouldn't say they're my favorite type -- with Kherington Payne, Chelsie Hightower Caitlin Kinney and Randi Evans, we've had plenty on the show. But ice-cream scooper Channing Cook had so much personality and used her athletic body so well I couldn't help but root for her. 

Even some of the more unusual dancers were better tonight, like Ryan Casey, who didn't look as if he could pack a lot of grace into a 6-foot-8 figure but tap danced well enough to earn Nigel Lythgoe's respect. Fabrizio "Breeze" Jenkins, who looked like a cross between Artie Lange and John Belushi, also didn't look as if he would bring much to the audition, but he actually had some hip-hop moves, including moving his gut up and down his body.  No surprisingly though, neither moved past (or, in Breeze's case, through) choreography. The biggest surprise was Gene Bersten, who seemed like too much of a character -- think  Pasha Kovalev mixed with the "Night at the Roxbury" guys -- to actually be a very good dancer. Still, despite his waggling eyebrows, he made it through to Vegas. 

My only complaint is that apparently the performance episodes don't start until late October. I want to see these dancers hit the floor!

-- Claire Zulkey

(art: FOX)

"So You Think You Can Dance": The aliens have landed

Remember how last week I said I was glad that the audition episode just had a lot of talent, not a lot of oddballs? Well, we weren't as lucky tonight.  I could tell the bar would be lowered with the presence of Demetrio "Biggie" Bargas, a large guy whose presence was aided by a corny "BOING" sound effect whenever he bounced around.  Sure, he and his partner Brandon "Shorty" Smallwood were entertaining, but the judges really didn't need to put either of them through to choreography.  Same thing with Jarivs Johnson.  Note to "SYCYD" producers: Repeated high-pitched screeching (especially in addition to Mary Murphy's) does not make for entertaining TV. His dancing was "most entertaining guy on the dance floor at the wedding" at best, and the judges put him through as a joke, obviously, but the joke is old. And there were a handful of other oddballs who auditioned who weren't that fun to watch.

Fortunately, there were a few auditioners who I'm looking forward to seeing in Vegas, most specifically Sasha Mallory, who seemed like pliable Mia Michaels material, and Jonathan "Legacy" Perez. Personally he's not my favorite b-boy to appear on the show so far, but last season was sorely lacking in hip-hop dancers, so I hope we see more of him or dancers like him.

Of course the most noteworthy dancers of the night were Willem de Vries and Jacob Jason, the same-sex ballroom dancers. Unlike the guys who tried out last season, they oozed coolness and confidence before they even tried out.  Mia Michaels cried after their performance, but frankly, I'm tired of crying over "SYTYCD" performances. I agreed with Nigel that the more important thing was that they portrayed good, strong ballroom. He then sent them to choreography, where they looked more than comfortable dancing with the ladies as well. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do in Vegas and hope that at least one of them makes it to the top 20.

Next week we head to Boston. I hope the talent there will outweigh the sideshow.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Photo: Fox)

'So You Think You Can Dance': Chatting with Nigel Lythgoe

“So You Think You Can Dance” executive producer and judge, Nigel Lythgoe, submitted to some questions from journalists today on a conference call about, among other things, the new fall season, the judging panel adjustments and what he looks for in dancers.

On whether the show will be tweaked this season for its first fall run:

Not really. We think the show is already ripe in its format, but we will be adding a few more interesting points into the results show, and we've announced that Adam Shankman is going to be a resident judge. The standards are improving, that’s all.

On what the addition of Shankman means for guest judges, such as Mia Michaels or Tabitha and Napoleon D'mo:

It’s difficult to put them in as judges because I want them choreographing. And I still want Paula Abdul to pop in, and Jennifer Lopez has said how much she loves the program. We tried it with Ellen [DeGeneres], it was very successful. I just don’t want four judges every week. When available, when possible, they will judge. We sometimes have six and seven judges, but normally in a place where I can edit and keep everything tight. The only reason I don’t like that many is that it goes on and it waffles. With dance, people have something categorical to say, a criticism of the dancer they see and want to point out. But the fourth seat could still be a celebrity or a choreographer judge.

On the same-sex ballroom couple that will be on tonight’s audition episode:

Well, I don’t want to say too much, because I want you to watch.  But they came on with the attitude that “same-sex dancing isn't what you've shown in the past, it is much stronger, we are the world champions. This is how it should look, not falling over flat on your back.” Basically, we’re giving a proper showcase for same-sex dancing. 

On what he hopes to see from this season’s dancers:
Last season I wasn’t too happy with their charisma. I would like to bring personality with talent:  I'll be trying to instill that. You can never guarantee what the dancers are going to do, you can never guarantee that they're not going to get stage fright. It depends on them. We never know what we're going to get. Every year we say, “This is the best year yet!" but nobody expects us to say, “Oh, this is a bad season this year. Don’t watch it!" All I can say is that I think the standard of technical dancing across five seasons has grown. Season 4 had wonderful personalities with Twitch [Boss], Katee [Shean], Josh [Allen]. If I can get that charisma and personality into the technique, I’ll be a very happy man.

On whether he’ll be dancing again this season:

Ha! They keep twisting my arm — this last season [when the judges danced] I think the two most frightened people were choreographer Mia Michaels and me, and we only had something like 12 bars of music to dance to, and we were scared stiff. I don't enjoy that feeling. 

— Claire Zulkey

Photo credit: Fox