TVSquad

thanks for the update.

i love the troupes so much, i want them home and living in peace. folks who call me unpatriotic for that can smooch my bum at the vietnam wall!

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so glad to see that lauren and dominic are staying. i love dominic. i saw that he and sabra were holding hands on the side of the stage after the results were read. so cool how everyone gets along this season.

i loved it that nigel made that speech at the beginning of the show. i am so sick of people (read: right-wing sycophants) equating antiwar with being unamerican. i make that case all the time that no one should want to be pro-war and disagreeing with the war doesnt mean a lack of support for the troops.

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I'm not surprised that Kameron is going home. His dancing has been pretty lackluster all along. Had it not been for his tricks and flips, even having Lacey as a partner would not have saved him. I also like how the partner changes have allowed you to see who is really growing as a dancer and who isn't.

Is it just me or did Jamie look like someone shot her puppy every time she was on stage since Hok left. I don't think she wanted to continue without him.

I think that the judges did a horrible thing keeping Cedric on the show for so long. He moved the same way for absolutely every dance and it annoyed me. Jesus and Ricky, both superior dancers, were sacrificed to keep someone on who had absolutely no growth and no training. I think the competition among the men could've been much different had Cedric been eliminated straight away. I'm not saying that either Jesus or Ricky would've made it to the top 10, but Danny might have had more pressure on him to let the audience in when he performs, and Kameron might have been sent home before he got an undeserved spot on tour.

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I believe Lacey carried Kameron through the first few weeks of the show. Interesting when a person who was never in the bottom three, then eliminated at first opportunity - that had to suck.

I was sad to see Jaime go - but I believe it was the right choice. Next week - I think Lauren will go unless she pulls some magic from her dancing. While she has shown growth, she hasn't shown as much growth as the other girls and her stage presence isn't on the same level as Lacey (even though I have had enough of her head tilting, mouthed thank yous - sexpot personae - etc, etc, etc)

Love the group routine - Mia Michaels rocks and can she pull off some seriously weird haircuts - she looks great. I just love her!

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I can't belive Dominic is staying, I hate him. Danny not being in the bottom two surprised me.

i also like how the male judge Wednesday went "The solo was fantastic!" and then last night went "we got sick of it after the 5th time".

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I;m just wondering why Laren doesn't get the votes. She's cute, but not in a threatening way to a 14 year old girl. (Like, say, Jamie) She's a great dancer, I mean, listen to the judges rave about her on the show where she ended up in the bottom four. She's not a snot, like Danny. She's genuinely happy. Why is she so often in the bottom? Why do the little voter girls not like her? I understand why they like Sabra, Sabra is, basically, one of them; not all that bright, lazy nasal speech, goofy, over enthusiastic. And I can get why they like Sara; She's out of her element and never falters, she never exceeds, but she isn't an embarrassment. I guess I am answering my own question. They don't love lauren as much as they love those others....
As for the boys: Of course Kam would go. Regardless of what you or anyone else thought of his dancing, he is a masculine dancer. In that way he's sort of threatening to a 14 year old girl. If older girls and women were voting he would stuck around one more week. But, Dominic is a goof and a non threatenng one at that, he;'s like a brother. Danny is gay. So, no threat there.Pasha is like your older brother; sweet and kinda dim. And neil....you could sort of say the same.
Let's behonest. Shows like this...."America" is not voting. 14 year old girls are voting. And now the future of some terrific dancers is in the hands of a bunch of hormonally imbalanced teenagers.

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Lappuin and Sarah, I completely respect your feelings about the war. I also wish the members of the military did not have to put themselves in danger, be away from their families and go through the heartache of war. However, I think it would surprise you to find out that the majority of active-duty military do not agree with the typical anti-war crowd. War is what they train for and even though all you hear about on the news are car bombings and death there is actually a tremendous amount of good that is being done by the troops every day on a personal basis.

Every soldier has horror stories to tell, and those are the ones that will come blasting out of your TV. But for every horror story there are ten other stories of lives saved, families reunited, schools built, and public services rejuvenated by the US military. Every soldier also knows what will happen if all of them are "strategically redeployed." There will not be "peace and love" in Iraq, just the opposite as the wolves move in and Iraq reverts to despotism.

You must understand that the military men and women would absolutely rather be home but they don't want to see all that they have accomplished thrown to the wolves because of political or media pressure. You must also understand that you CANNOT say that you support them but you just don't support what they are doing or how they are doing it. That is a naive contradiction of support that infuriates them.

I also don't think that disagreeing with a war is un-american since that is your right. I said yesterday on this site that everyone who is not a power mad dictator should be anti-war. But this is why I think the term "anti-war" has kind of gotten confused and is no longer as descriptive as it should be. Does anti-war mean opposed to all wars, a specific war or just wars that are not waged in self-defense? I wish they would have given Wade more time on the show to explain what he meant by anti-war. Although, after reading his explanation on his site, I'm not sure that he even knows.

Saying that you are all for peace and love is fine but it also comes across to me as naive and juvenile in the context of international politics. In order to get rid of war, it's not the world that needs to change, it's human nature... and that will never happen. But, if what he was saying is that individuals need to spread peace and love as much as possible then I can't disagree with that.

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I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong with Kameron's dance until they said he danced 'heavy.' That made sense to me. He doesn't get the extension that others do when dances. Now he did have great partnering skills for someone who had never really partnered before the show. He was always there for Lacey and that's not an easy skill.

As for why they do the solos on the results show even though the decision has been made. 1) it gives those who were voted out a chance to do their last dance on the show in the technique that they excel in and 2) for those in 4th, it's a chance to show the voters why they shouldn't be in the bottom the next week. Sure we are far enough along that it won't change some peoples votes but those who voted for the ones who left last night have to pick a new person to vote for.

I love Lauren. I hope people give her a second chance because I think she is better than Sara at least. I also don't think Lacey is that fake.... Benji and Heidi use to say "Thank You" and cock their head to the side etc. Could be just a family personality thing. She did seem rather upset over Kameron going home and hugged him a long time during the closing credits.

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Well said, Kenm

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This is a good conversation; I might talk about this one at http://mp285.com

Your point is well made, kenm, but as someone with a background in int'l politics, I would caution us all to be less quick to subordinate "peace," which we only now talk about as an idea, to "war," which we only talk about as a reality. They are both ideas and they are both realities. They are both processes and they both require action, sacrifice, and committment.

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Hello...can anyone say popularity contest.

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Marisa, thanks for the feedback. What I'm getting from your post is that the issue is complex and I would definitely agree with that. It is too complex for sound-bite slogans like "peace and love", "anti-war", or "support the troops." And, I might add, it is too complex for a 30-second dance routine which is only vaguely explained using those slogans.

I think Nigel was absolutely right when he said something like dance being a good medium to raise these issues and make statements. I think a professional dance EXHIBITION is a good place to make an anti-war or pro-troops statement because you are watching it for the dancing only. However, I think it was a mistake to bring this issue into a dance COMPETITION because, in addition to being entertained by the dancing, we are also watching it to evaluate the contestants. So I think the anti-war message was a distraction from what one of the purposes of the show is supposed to be. It unnecessarily took the focus away from the contestants, overshadowed their performance and got us all talking about the wrong thing within the context of the show.

On another note, I think Mia Michaels took some unnecessary crap for the jacket she was wearing and she'll probably think twice in the future about wearing pseudo-military clothing on TV. However, that got me thinking how many times I've seen different types of cammo in the hip-hop routines. Also, I've seen the communist red star on a number of occasions, sometimes by the same people who just danced an anti-war routine. I just think it is ironic how much military garb has permeated fashion on TV, and by people who don't know the history or meaning behind some of the symbols. They just think it is a cool fashion statement. Personally, I find that sad because the international decisions that are being made today are occurring with the full force of history behind them - history that so many people these days are shockingly ignorant of.

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While Kenm is saying exactly how I feel, I just want to clarify what I said in my post for the dancing part of the show.

I was only annoyed at Wade because *I got the impression* that he was trying to make a political statement about his feelings on the war. When Wade mentioned "Anti-war" I thought he was referring to the Bush administration more than anything else. And while I can't say that I agree or disagree with him, I just didn't think it belonged in this type of show. Perhaps I was wrong about his intentions, I don't know.

With that said, I didn't think Wade was being anti-American, just opinionated. Nor do I think anti-war is a bad thing,.. of course no one is pro-war.

Once again,.. I just didn't think it belonged in this venue.

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Oh, and Judgy,.. why do you think Sabra is not all that bright? That's a bizarre comment. From what I've seen so far, she's probably one of the most intelligent ones of the bunch.

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I'm sorry,.. one last thing,..
Kenm,
You're my hero.
Let me buy you a beer.

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Ha, thanks for your support Rob. :)

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Thanks for the thoughtful response, kenm (and even more for actually reading my post!)

I would be more inclined to agree with your distinction b/w exhibition and competition if SYTYCD weren't a tv show. For better or for worse, I'm not sure it's beholden to the same rules of competition as, say, a track and field event-- in the sense that "entertainment" (in the reality show sense) and "dance/art" get all screwed up on the show. I think even the judges are a little confused sometimes (is it personality or skill? is it technique or appeal?).

Since the show is always claiming to be about dance-as-an-art, though, I think Robson's decision was a fine one (in the abstract, aside from my like or dislike for the routine or its "message"). This is just a show, like any other, a performance like any other. Here we are, watching and talking about it.

I love your point about fashion, though I can't help but wonder if the phenomenon you are noting isn't also tied up in the Robson thing, viz. notions of entertainment, art, etc.: On one end we have Robson, earnestly directing the dancers to make t-shirts "about peace," on the other Michaels, ignorant but signifying just as much.

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Why the Sabra hate? In my opinion, it IS a popularity contest in the end. I'm actually kind of amazed she is still around. (She is my favorite.) But those of you that have been watching since auditions, she wasn't even in them! All the sudden the top 20 were chosen, and I remember thinking, "Who is this chick?"

Most of the other dancers had a "spot" interview when they had auditions. I think it's amazing that she has won everyone over when she practically came out of no where. And she is a fabulous dancer, and really likeable.

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First: of course it's a popularity contest; that's how we *define* best. If something is textbook-perfect but I don't enjoy it, then it's not the best. As far as I can tell, Danny is the most technically accomplished dancer in the competition. But I do not want him to win, nor do I think he deserves to, because I do not enjoy watching him dance as much as, say, Neil.

Second: I didn't even *notice* Mia's jacket last night. I'm struggling hard to remember what it looked like, and coming up totally blank.

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I didn't bother watching the results show (found out online who was sent packing). When Wade Robson was describing the solo and said "anti-war", I, too, interpreted it as meaning something specific (i.e. the current war in Iraq).

One of the reasons I did not like Lauren at the beginning (I like her okay now) is because she was Tyce's assistant. It was like she was getting the star treatment because she already had an "in" with the judges. Of course, her being Tyce's assistant has nothing to do with her getting in the Top 10, but that was just the impression I got at the beginning.

I guess the other thing with Lauren is that she doesn't have a back story. She's not Benji's little sister, she's not the only b-girl, she doesn't train alongside Travis and Danny, she's just Lauren. Sure, she was Tyce's assistant last year but they never mention it anymore (not that I think they should). But she doesn't have some story like that, and maybe that's why she doesn't have hoards of fans supporting her (or at least, voting for her).

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