I'm not going to lie, I did a google image search on Tanisha just to see

I love us. IJS.

Tape that wasn't working?? WHY?

For the love of all that's holy, why? I will never not see that white stuff on her butt now. Shudder.

Ooh, really? What made you think that? I think I need to rewatch that one because mostly I was like "FOUETTE! Oh, dang, don't fall over, girl"

Nigel nailed it, actually. Jacque's turn out needs a little work. She's turning out from the thighs and knees and not from the pelvis, so when she does moves, in attitude especially, the alignment gets off. Her hips come up to compensate and then her knees and ankles drop. She talked about how Russian balletomane kept stopping them and re-aligning their bodies and I bet this was driving him crazy. It's not terrible and totally fixable. But Jourdin's turn out is just much stronger and her placement is more...right. I really think it was mainly a stamina thing that kept Jourdin from really shining in that piece. And I think...well, I don't know how to say this without coming off sounding 100% crazy, but for the ballet world, she is a little bit out of shape. She is not toned like she should be and that makes it harder to work it in a really fast, demanding pas de deux like the one they had last night, for instance. I do not think she is in any way fat or even heavy in real world terms. But in the ballet terms, she's a little loose.

IIRC, Teddy auditioned in Hip hop in Philly or wherever his initial audition this year was, though he's auditioned as a tapper before. I wonder what he'll do for solos.

I have no memory of his audition! I hope he's a better tapper than he is a hip hop dancer, because as a hip hop dancer, he's just OK.

Maybe they wound up with fewer hip hop kids in the Top 20 because they all did the crew competition? If so, yet another reason to hate the Biebs!

Kat, your comments are so great, as always. While holding a wriggling baby Bob had me read each comment while re-watching each performance with the sound off. It's really enlightening!

I sometimes watch with the sound off. Flaws are really much more visible.

I will have you all know that I searched my work calendar just now to see if there was any chance I'd be able to watch some SYTYCD with Kat (and/or bonbon, because then I'd get added bonus BABY). Will it still be running mid-August?

Awwww, y'all make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks for giving me a place to blather on about this show. And there's always an open invitation to come watch SYTYCD at Casa Kat for any Buffistas who find themselves in the LA area. I would love to have another watching party with meara, bon bon-bob bob-and now bonus baby, and anyone else.

Yeah, I think of flea watching pirated dances with the sound off in the library whenever I watch it muted! It really highlights bad feet and poor performance. For example, I thought the Night Shift performance was really awesome but without having the music backing it up it lost something the second time around.

Woes, people, I am currently working Wednesday nights until 9pm, and then it's half an hour to get home.

On the up side, Casper is now old enough to watch clips with me and have semi-sensible commentary. She still wants to be a ballerina despite having NO toe-point (but good turn-out! for ten!) and being on a growth curve to hit 6'1".

She still wants to be a ballerina despite having NO toe-point (but good turn-out! for ten!) and being on a growth curve to hit 6'1".

Has she taken ballet classes? Or any other dance? I wish I'd gotten to as a kid--I feel like as an adult, there's so many things I have a harder time learning, and/or will never look like someone who learned it as a kid...

Yeah, she's taken classes since 2nd grade/age 7, so 4 years now. Generally ballet, tap and jazz once a week - this year for a 2-hour class. It's not a pre-professional program (there are a couple in this city), just your basic for-fun dance studio, although her teacher is pretty good and less about big hair and booty shaking than some child dance teachers. They've done some barre work since 4th grade. Next year pre-pointe is an option (they assess based on age and foot bone maturity), and Casper thinks this is very cool.

My mom put me in dance when I was a little bitty thing. There was a lot that I loved about it and a lot that I hated about it, so much that I quit dancing at 15 and didn't really go back to it until college. I think the studio that you're in and the teachers' attitudes, the attitudes of the other families....all that makes such a huge difference. Dance should be fun and challenging not Dance Moms crazy. I hope it's that for Casper.

Also, the first time you put on pointe shoes is just one of the coolest things you'll ever do!