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If you read this blog, you know that I (Anna), am a big fan of dance and a big dancer myself. So you will have to endure my blogging about the weekly wonder that is SYTYCD because it’s a great gift to the art and the dance world. If you like dance, watch this show! I’ll be posting the numbers to call for your favorites too, but remember they will only be good for 2 hours after the show ends.
Janine & Phillip – Hip Hop Routine (by Tabitha & Napoleon), Phillip is one of my very favorites so I was happy to see this was an AMAZING first performance. OMG! It was a lyrical hip hop routine to Mad by Ne-Yo about a couple that can’t sleep because they’re angry. Phillip got wonderful comments from Judge Adam Shankman, regarding how generous and “present” he is with his partners. I’m voting for Phillip. 1-888-Tempo-01
Asuka & Vitolio – Broadway Routine (by Tyce), Hot Honey Rag from Chicago, I wanted it to ooze personality and it fell a little flat for me. I think they both danced well, but the chemistry was either off or the energy or something. I’m not sure. It was cute, but flat for me. The judges agreed with me, cool. 1-888-Tempo-02
Karla & Jonathan – Cha Cha (by Tony Meredith), Poker Face by Lady Gaga, the dance seems a little disjointed, the tricks are nice and they’re dancing fine but you can tell that ballroom/latin is not Karla’s forte, she feels a little awkward to me. The judges don’t agree with me, and that’s okay. 1-888-Tempo-03
Randi & Evan – Jazz (by Tyce), Evan is another of my “personal favorites” – I’m all about a new world Gene Kelly. To I ONly Have Eyes for You by Jamie Cullum. I thought it was soulfully sensual and jazzy. I loved their performance and I even bought they’re chemistry. I may even buy this song! Something so subtle but so wonderful, how he pulled his hand back when he stroked her leg. Sensational. I so never noticed how short both these contestants were. Wow. I’m so voting for Evan. 1-888-Tempo-04
Tony & Paris - Hip Hop (by Tabitha & Napoleon), to Let the Beat Rock by the Black Eyed Peas. I thought it was really good, overall. I initially wanted to discuss that I found her flow to be a little stunted but it got better as the dance went on. 1-888-Tempo-05
Jason & Caitlin – Bollywood (by Nahcool? not sure how to spell his name), to Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire (I LOVE THIS SONG), I think Jason sold the dance a little more but they both did good with some tough and fast-paced choreography. Sometimes their synchronization was a little off, but hey it’s only week 1. 1-888-Tempo-06
Janette & Brandon – Fox Trot (by Louis Van Amstel – OOOH, new addition to the choreography roster this season, he’s from Dancing with the Stars and is a wonderful dancer/choreographer). To Come Fly with Me by Michael Buble, I really liked it. Fox Trot is hard to perfect and for a first effort it was a stunner, the lifts were INSANE in all the right ways. I was really suprised at how much they sold the feel of the trot, lovely. 1-888-Tempo-07
Ashley & Kupono – Jazz (by Wade Robson – YEA!!!! WADE IS BACK), to concept is two crash-test-dummies, to Felt by Goldfrapp, the number was totally Wade, which I love but I worry the judges sometimes don’t get it. I missed Wade’s choreography so much last season, so I’m glad they’re back – hopefully! They looked the part, techinque was fantstic, the artistry was vivid. Thankfully Mary got it, Alan got it, and Nigel got it. YEA! 1-888-Tempo-08
Melissa & Ade – Contemporary (by Mandy Moore – not the singer), Right Here Waiting by Richard Marx – kickin’ it old school. Just gorgeous, GORGEOUS! I’m all for the 29 year old ballet dancer, I think she’s my favorite girl now. The chemistry was so wonderful too. Wow. The wind blowing was just the right touch too. I was highly impressed to the point I got some chills. Very cool to me. 1-888-Tempo-09
Kayla & Max – Samba (by Louis Van Amstel – yea!), Jum Bah Day by ?, OMG, Kayla is killing this ballroom number and it’s not her style – you go girl! Damn fine choreography by Louis too. Sweet end to an amazing night of performances! I’d comment more on Max, but in that outfit, it’s hard to keep your eyes off Kayla. 1-888-Tempo-10
Here’s the verdict:
MY TOP DANCES – Janine & Phillip – Hip Hop Routine (by Tabitha & Napoleon), Randi & Evan – Jazz (by Tyce), Jason & Caitlin – Bollywood (by Nahcool? not sure how to spell his name), Janette & Brandon – Fox Trot, Ashley & Kupono – Jazz (by Wade Robson – YEA!!!! WADE IS BACK), Melissa & Ade – Contemporary (by Mandy Moore – not the singer)
STAY TUNED...tomorrow I’ll hopefully post a link to my DANCE OF THE NIGHT, I have to sleep on it though, not sure!
New York, New York! No wonder why there’s been so many songs written about it. It’s a teeming mass of people and an opportunity for “anything” to happen. That’s where us 4 hopeful travelers headed yesterday: Perfectly Marvelous JennStoc (PM JennStoc), Sir PirateNinjaMonkey (SPNM), the Jim and Me. At 10 AM PM JennStoc arrived at my parent’s home and blessedly volunteered to drive us to NY since I needed to get air in my back tire anyway. I didn’t hesitate; I was a bit tired of driving so absolutely!
We arrived in NYC around noon, and parked at the Port Authority (which I highly recommend), and hurriedly hopped a cab to our dinner location, Brasserie Les Halles on Park Avenue. In true, yet boring fashion the four of us ordered the delish Steak & Frittes and noshed with glee. The plan was to split up and let the boys explore their day and the girls had some solid plans, so us girls hopped a cab to our first destination.
The Shubert Theatre is one of legend, just watch Elaine Stritch at Liberty and you’ll understand. PM JennStoc and I had tickets to see the Noel Coward play, Blithe Spirit and I was more than excited. Why? A couple of reasons. I have always wanted to see a Noel Coward play live and in person and never have. Second, the cast was ASTONISHINGLY wonderful to consider: Angela Lansbury (icon), Rupert Everett (one of my favorite gay men ever), Christine Ebersole…I mean, come on?! So we got there in plenty of time to wait in the extremely long ladies room line – I highly recommend using the bathrooms on the mezzanine and balconies, which they forgot to mention. The play began. Now…only 1 minor complaint. The sound engineer didn’t have the actor’s mics up and sometimes it was hard to hear the entire witty bantered dialog. That however was where the negative criticism ends. To read my full review – check out ANNA101.
Afterwards, we didn’t realize how little time we had between shows as dinner was in our future, so we walked up Times Square and ran into the obligatory guy who has every designer bag you could ever want. I didn’t partake this time…I was being a good girl. I got a text from my hubby dear letting me know that he and SPNM were having a grand time exploring all of NYC and one of those explorations scored me my birthday present, a limited edition, Times Square Swatch watch (I know that should bring back some memories from my 1980s peeps). I gave love and thanks. Then back to walking.
Along the walk we stopped outside of the exit door to the Late Show with David Letterman. A crowd of normal folk and paparazzi were stationed outside. Naturally curious, we asked what all the hub-bub was about. Apparently, Beyonce was scheduled on the show for tonight so everyone was awaiting her exit. PM JennStoc and I decided, “Heh, let’s wait and see if we can spot her too.” So we waited, and we waited….and waited. We took pics of the paparazzi and got chatted up by some sweetly annoying local man. Still, no Beyonce. A lot of excitement when Shrek in full makeup and costume came out to go across the street to his theatre…but no Beyonce. After waiting 20 minutes, we decided we really weren’t that big of fans and wanted some dinner. So we left. Who knows if she ever got out of that dressing room?
After eating a quick dinner, we were on our way to our 8 PM show…9-to-5, the Musical. It’s currently in previews at the Marquee Theatre, which started on April 7th; so going to a show in previews, in my opinion is a true delight. It’s so early in it’s stage life that the cast album hasn’t even been recorded yet. Truth was that while PM JennStoc and myself had some mild concerns about the play being toooo campy or too weird turning such a great and funny iconic movie into a musical, we were completely blown away. Read my full review at ANNA 101 and you’ll get a bonus surprise like we did.
After the play ended we called the boys and they were serendipitously right in front of our theatre. So, we walked the crowded and fabulously neon lit Times Square to get to our car. After a quick ride home…we were happy, exhausted and considering a return trip to NYC on Friday.
Just another great day folks. Awesome.
Read my thoughts HERE!
Check out my blog for DWTS tonight www.anna101.com. Enjoy.
Hello everyone…
It’s that time that Anna loves…Dancing with the Stars. The Jim, puts up with it. In fact, I’d say he’s more into Tom Bergeon’s witty retorts. So, I’m going to blog week-by-week, my thoughts and opinions. Feel free to comment and discuss. I love this show. I will say, without seeing anyone perform I’m already cheering for Steve-O (clean and sober and deserving of a new direction in his life), Lil’ Kim (she’s the hip hop version of royalty), David Allen Grier (cause he’s one of the funniest people around, and he has big um, um…breasteses – kidding), and lastly, Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple), because he’s part of what I’m typing on at this very moment.
Lil’ Kim and Derik Hough> Suprising and good first effort on a cha cha from Lil’ Kim. Always enjoyed her music, just wish she had kept an earlier verison of her face. Here’s hoping she has a good comeback from her time in prision, very suprised with her performance. JUDGES SCORE: 21 (about right).
Belinda Carlisle and Johnathan Roberts> Waltz. Former lead singer of the Go-Gos (80s super group), schlocky solo-hits “Heaven is a Place on Earth”, and my first husband’s first dream girl. Struggles with her turns, and is a bit stiff. Please point those toes too. She looks nice, but I’m worried she’s using the same plastic surgeon that Priscilla Presley is using. They look eerily similar. Eh, not so hot. JUDGES SCORE: 17 (a tad bit generous in my opinion).
Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska > Cha-Cha. Former pro-football player and the fabu that is Edyta with her ever changing range of “minimalist-flag dresses/outfits”. So, the big man fears looking like a fool…well, not looking foolish but looking a bit stiff. Loosen up the joints a bit. Not horrid footwork wise, but awkward looking. Smooth it out and it’ll be much better later. Um, he also looks like he’s going to burst into tears. JUDGES SCORE: 16 (I felt it was about the same level as Belinda’s).
Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer> Waltz. Stupid risk taker of Jackass, checked into rehab for drug/alcohol addiction a year ago and is working to get his life back together – so already I admire his effort. Practices look pretty scary, but I’m a big fan of Lacey because she’s a graduate of my other favorite dance show, So You Think You Can Dance. Very silly chene turn arms, but overall much better than he looked in practice but awkward. Just work on some technique please and you’ll do fine. I don’t think the judges will be as kind or favorable. He looks so much better clean and sober though! Johnny Knoxville was in the audience and in support, which was very nice. I’m hoping that the family friendly folks can deal with the word Jackass being bantered around…chill out folks. JUDGES SCORE: 17 (nicer than I expected).
Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke> Cha Cha. The man famous for being the over-sexed and naked neighbor of Samantha in the Sex and the City movie, and the sweet and curvy Cheryl, whom I hope is not dating Gilles since I feel like she dates her co-stars somewhat. Not bad, not bad at all and not exceedingly awkward. Cheryl has also loost weight since last season, which I don’t think she needed to but hopefully people will shut up about it this season. Very good first performance if you ask me, and a bit of “chemistry” going on between them so let the rumours fly! I think he’ll go far this season, with women voters he’s very easy on the eyes. JUDGES’ SCORE: 24 (very nice and well deserved).
Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough> Waltz. Country-music person (yawn – not a country fan, sorry), and the real-life boyfriend of her partner, the spunky Julianne Hough (aka, my father’s fantasy woman). I like that she gets to share her first world with her significant other, but they could get so annoying if they focus on the mush factor – actually this dance lesson stuff is FABULOUS pre-marital counseling so good for them. A bit stumbly with his footwork and not light on his feet much, but Julianne knows how to play up his finer points and hide some of the flaws. Not bad, but the footwork needs help oh and no more weird strangle-turns. JUDGES’ SCORE: 20 (a bit too flattering on the Judges side).
Two casualties interviewed in this season: Jewel and Nancy O’Dell – out before the first dance, so no onscreen drama. So, who’s replacing them? Like you didn’t know – because there’s been leaks all over the place?!
Holly Madison and Dimitry Chaplain> Cha Cha. The “star?” of The Girls Next Door and former head-girlfriend of Hugh Hefner and recent ex of Criss Angel. We’ll have to cut her some slack on this performance since she’s only trained for 5 days. She’s the replacement for Jewel. Dimitry is one of my favorites from So You Think You Can Dance history and was the man that the Jim’s Mom was like ” woo”. She was stiff but alas, they’re going to judge her on what they see. Not horrible for short notice training, we shall see where this goes. The Judges are being very kind. My only request, please Holly stop nervous giggling…it’s annoying. JUDGES’ SCORE: 18 (woah, a tad generous me thinks).
Ty Murray and Chelsea Hightower> Cha Cha. King of the Rodeo and husband of Jewel, I’m glad he’s not wearing a cowboy hat (I spoke too soon). Chelsea is a fantastic dancer with some of the best legs in the ballroom business and another alumni of So You Think You Can Dance. Wow, is he all over the place and nowhere good which sucks booty because I love Chelsea and she deserves a better chance this season. I didn’t know his middle name was Awkward…or is it not? The Jim actually left the room cause he couldn’t watch it. Sadly, I think he’ll be an early casualty. JUDGES’ SCORE: 14
Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas> Waltz. The olympic gold medalist gymnast and youngest contestant on the show, ever. Paired with the sweet Austrailian nice guy. Unfortunately, she reminds me of a past partner of Mark’s and (former flame – don’t rob the cradle Mark); that Cheetah Girl…can’t remember her name. Suprisingly sweet waltz, need to work on her emotion (emoting), and comfort with chemistry. Nice though…no complaints except for some obvious difficulty breaking herself from gymnast arms. JUDGES’ SCORE: 23 (I think, I can’t remember – decent).
Steve Wozniack and Karina Smirnoff> Cha Cha. The co-founder of Apple Computers and sweet, geeky, nerd guy. Karina Smirnoff, the fiancee of Maxim! Loved the fact that she doesn’t get his sense of humour, and I’m very hopeful that he’ll get a lot of votes from the mac-addicts like me. He was pretty rough, but really played up his fun factor. I think the judges are going to rip him, but I hope that he stays in to see where he can go/grow. JUDGES’ SCORE: 13 (yeesh…hard).
David Allen Grier and Kym Johnson> Waltz. Funny man, former In Living Color fabu-man. Kym Johnson one of the sweetest and petite-est of the professional dancers. Very smooth performance from the funny man and taking this very seriously, which I love seeing. Only complaint is that think he needs to watch his facial expressions. I loved this performance from him and am very hopeful about his progression in the series. YEA!!! Oh and was just reminded that David and Carrie Ann worked together on In Living Color (she was a fly-girl dontcha know!). JUDGE’ SCORE: 19 (way lower than it should have been, that’s annoying).
Denise Richards and Maxim Chemerkovsky> Denise…not the biggest fan of the actress/model, but I don’t hate her. Maxim is one of my favorite of the male professional dancers – love his cockiness! Okay, she doesn’t need to be crying this early on can someone please give her a drink or an ativan? She’s a little awkward and stiff. Nice effort but frankly, not that good. JUDGES’ SCORE: 18 (about right).
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani> Ugh…recent dumped diva of the last Bachelor series, and one of my favorite of the male professional dancers the sweetheart, Tony! She’s Nancy O’Dell’s replacement. Now, they only had 48 hours of practice so I don’t put a lot of weight behind this performance but we shall see. Wow. Color me surprised. Um, is she a ringer? I can tell she’s had some dance training since she’s struggling with heal leads (always leading with her toes – one of my weaknesses when I transition into ballroom too). Um…nice extensions, lift (will get yelled at by Carrie Ann), but what a great first performance given she’s had so few hours of practice. JUDGES’ SCORE: 23 (really good for 48 hours of preparation time).
Who I’m voting for tonight:
- Steve-O
- The Woz
- David Allen Grier
Who I think will go:
For pure dance skills: The Woz or Ty Murray
I Hope: Denise Richards (she should get back to the reality show).
Best Quotes of the Night:
Tom Bergeron to Steve Wozniak: “If my Safari browser freezes…do I..?”
Bruno Tonioli to Steve Wozniak: “You looked like a Teletubby.”
Tom Bergeron to Bruno Tonioli: “Try getting a good spot at a genius bar after that comment.”
ALL QUOTES ARE approximations, I can’t exactly remember the wording…sorry. What do you think?
Last weekend, Jim and I found ourselves at Tai (which incidentally used to be called Tao – for like a month), due to a craving for some succulent sushi. We were hopeful. The place is beautiful inside with a nice metropolitan vibe to it, and while the food is good…”Overpriced,” was Jim’s 1 word to describe it. In his opinion, you can take a short drive up the hill to Wasabi and get good sushi for less. I do tend to agree. We had a really nice and accommodating waiter, and ordered:
- Shrimp Tempura Appetizer
- Crunch Shrimp Rolls
- The Crab-cake Roll
First of all, the prawns were really good…and we’re big fans of shrimp so we know! The majority of the veggies were good to as part of the tempura appetizer (zucchini is also really good fried). The crunchy shrimp rolls were good, but not remarkable. The biggest double-edged sword was the Crab-cake Roll. Crab-meat, Cream Cheese and other items, but….um….deep-fried. It was tasty, but WAAAAAAAAAAY too heavy for sushi. The main menu might be a better showing of the restaurant’s skills, but trust me – good food can be found without a stiff price-tag. Perhaps they should have selected a smaller location for their restaurant, and passed the savings onto their patrons…but please, for the love of Pete, don’t go as small as NAMA.
Just our two cents.
Okay, so it sounds more elaborate than it really is right? This is our little slice of internet nonsense, which basically is our on-going effort to keep our friends and family up-to-date on our lives, our love and our continuing pursuit of pomegranates. In this modern age of movement, we’ve realized that distance is not an excuse to not keep everyone posted, so please - stop by anytime - in person or internet-ly and know that you are all never far from our thoughts.
