( continues...) the judges in a sea of blonde competition studio trained girls and make an impression - prove that she was bringing more to the table than extensions and acro tricks. I was set to dislike her, but on the real? She was kind of tearing it down. I could do without the outfit which was a parody of what corny white kids think "hard" kids wear in the hood, but the dancing was for the most part on point. She hit hard. She brought attitude and a quirky kind of swagger and I, like Shankdaddy, totally bought it from her. From the looks of the choreo, she's pretty cross-trained so she may have a shot in Vegas, though I need to see more.
Gene Lonardo (6 on the fabulosity scale) - I'm tired of this fool already. He has really good technique. He is a solid dancer. He didn't even need all the green painted rigamarole that he put us through. Why? Also, I think watching him do hip hop would be more painful than watching Billy Bell krump and nobody wants to see that again, so I am thinking he's a no go to Vegas. I gave him the 6 rather than the 5 for faking me out and not winding up a joke audition.
Murphy Yang (4.5 on the fabulosity scale) - Bored now. Yawn. I've seen way better poppers than that on the subway. And I do not care at all about your sob story. Seems like pops may be right, hmmm? He may just not have the chops to be a professional dancer. Many people don't.
Leroy Martinez (4 on the fabulosity scale) - And he got a point just for the name. Snaps, mom. That name is awesome. Anywho, big man can move it, move it. But everybody in that auditorium knew that he would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, make it on the show. So what was the point of putting him through to choreo? Exactly.
Rachel Applehands(?)(2 on the fabulosity scale) - And if that's not her real last name than please don't tell me differently because it makes the hating even sweeter if that is her actual last name. Anyway, this is SYTYCD not Stripper Idol. Ewww. I would've forgiving Leroy all if he'd actually managed to take this fool out when he partnered her in the choreo round. But she made it through to be ignominiously sent home in round one or two of Vegas. Eh.
And Finally:
Good and Bad Feet (a la kat p) = Yes a lot of it is a nice toe point. That always helps. Also, high arches. Either god gave them to you or you work your ass off rolling your feet over the top of soda bottles and such. But it's not just about the look of the feet. Some dancers forget their feet when they dance (some do the same with the hands) and the feet kind of dangle on the end of the ankles like dead fish. They don't dance all the way through their toes, so they have nice tension through the legs, through the calves and then you get to the feet and they are just kinda . . . there. This is not good. It also means, especially in ballroom, that the movement of the feet is sharp and precise and there are a lot of elements (heel leads and such) that are very specific and if done wrong in ballroom, then the shit is just wrong. In jazz/modern/ballet, dancers can use their feet well, for example, when they are not heavy. Often when you see a dancer and her lifts and kicks look labored (a la horse face Ryan) it's more about the feet than about the legs. You can't get that light as a feather feeling without using the feet well. Or they cheat the steps so if you're just looking ankle up, it's gravy, but if you really pay attention to the feet, they slide through the steps, skid when they should hit solid, hop on turns . . . and that's bad feet with kat. I'm sure there's a more standard explanation than that.