#lots of improvisation probably instead of pre choreographed dances

[gilmorenights]

Okok hear me out what if traditional dances in Ingvarr were like tangoes. @immadatdisney2 had the idea that traditional dances in the dark kingdom would have a warrior edge to it, but I think that kind of dancing would be perfect for Ingvarr considering the fact that Ingvarr is made up of warriors. It would make sense that their traditional dances would be fast paced, filled with tension, and essentially made to look like they’re fighting on the dance floor.

Also I just like the idea of the team getting to Ingvarr and going undercover to a ball (I saw that idea somewhere else but I can’t remember where) so Hugo has to teach Varian how to dance the Ingvarrian way 😼

Anyway this video is what inspired the idea

[fishylife]

Street Dance of China, Season 4, Episode 4

- I’ve had issues with Tumblr not saving my posts again v.v I’ll just save often and hope that that does the trick.

- Latrice and Ibuki reenacting HB’s performance haha. From the behind the scenes clips I’ve seen, Ibuki does speak English, so I like to think they are now friends :D

- Hilty & Bosch have known each other since they were six years old T_T That’s cuuuute. Apparently they don’t get into arguments a lot because they always keep a distance between them XD Good strategy.

- San’er’s performance was great! He definitely brings the entertainment in his creativity (including incorporating a story line), but he doesn’t forget about the technical parts of dancing (the popping).

- Bouboo cheering on Rochka when he challenged Jianyan :P

- This spinning move he did was neat

- 不咋地 is going to be the recurring inside joke between Yibo, Rochka, and Bouboo ^^;;

- Yixing singing the SDOC theme song again XD With his super low energy voice XD

- Yibo was tipping the bench which was why Yixing and Henry were like, rocking back and forth at the same pace lol.

- Admittedly George vs. C-Lil was kind of rough. George tried to include Chinese elements in his performance, but he was injured, so he couldn’t really showcase them, and the latter part of his performance became just a typical contemporary dance. C-Lil’s performance was alright, but I think the judges were expecting something more impressive. While break dancing is very impressive to watch, I am starting to see the limitations of it, because if a dancer is not impressive, they are just kind of mediocre. George and C-Lil weren’t able to bring anything superbly impressive, which I think it was difficult for them to vote. Yibo abstained, and C-Lil got two votes, so C-Lil advanced.

- Zyko was incredible as always. It fascinates me how he’s mostly performed with these ballad type songs that don’t really have a beat. Also his flexibility is insane. I’m glad he got through with four votes because we need to see him more.

- I really liked Chika’s performance! I feel like women’s dancing is sometimes a bit limited in the mainstream because people just expect them to look sexy. It isn’t as much the case on this show because all of the ladies on this show are dancers and not idols or pop stars. But anyway, I just love seeing women dance without their bodies being sexualized. Chika’s dance showcased not only control over her body, but POWER. I loved her big movements. Compare the power that she shows vs. the power that say, Ibuki shows. Ibuki is a much smaller lady and it shows in her proportions, so how she expresses power looks different from how Chika expresses power, and Chika’s is the sort of power that I’ve really looked forward to seeing.

- Rochka fanboys over everybody, I love it. Keep spreading the love, dude.

- Ok, Xiaoji’s performance was pretty entertaining. I am not kidding when I say my jaw dropped, at the same time that all the captains went OH SNAP. But this guy definitely has charisma and stage presence. His confidence made up for his lack of ability to improvise XD I was CACKLING when this guy thought the song was done and Yibo was like “bro there’s more” and Xiaoji had to come up with something to end it off lol. I wouldn’t say his challenge was as good as Xiaohai’s, mostly because he hadn’t memorized the music like Xiaohai did. In terms of technical stuff, his performance did seem more impressive than Lai Wei’er’s, but he also did less “stuff” (like, there were a lot of pauses in his dance probably because he didn’t now the music). But Xiaoji’s was definitely more entertaining, though that may just be because of who he is and not his dancing. (By the way, Xiaoji’s real name is 林森. I thought the name 林��森 was just a joke because of how much wood was in it. I never guessed that someone would name their kid 林森 X’D Guess his 八字 indicated that he had a weakness in wood or something lol)

- Have some laughing captains, it’s good for the soul.

- Acky-san acknowledged that he’s probably not going to beat the younger dancers in terms of technique, so what he brought instead was style. The “robot” style of popping is pretty old, but no one else has done it in this competition probably because it’s so old school, and he definitely delivered in a way that only he could.

- Henry singing Frere Jacques with the French contingent X’D

- Thoughts on Han Yu vs. Boris. I can imagine what Han Yu was going for in his original performance, but I don’t think it worked. I don’t have the vocabulary to explain it, but basically the way his performance was choreographed just didn’t really impress. As Yibo mentioned, Boris was impressive in his dance to Han Yu’s music, but his dancing didn’t suit the song as much as Han Yu’s did. So the original dance + challenge was a matter of impressiveness vs. whether the dancing suited the music. Han Yu shone in the battle. I think he seemed a lot more impressive when back in a hip hop sort of groove, music that has a lot of major beats, compared to the piano music that was less grand an epic. As for Boris, I think that seeing a few of his performances in succession showed that his toolbox is a little limited in comparison to Han Yu. It hate to see Boris go because I loved his battle against Zyko but alas. I also wanted him to stay because he’s one of the few non-Chinese contestants who speak Mandarin relatively well. He had no issues speaking in Mandarin with most of the Chinese people on set. The ending was hilarious, when he was asked whether he had any last words, and Boris was like “well, I’m literally going to see these guys in two seconds when I’m back in the audience, I’m not dying” lmao.

- I don’t know how I feel about how the show has decided to deal with the last 29 contestants, of which three would be chosen to join the 49 dancers advancing. They’re competing fairly with the other contestants that haven’t performed yet, but they’re at a disadvantage compared to the previous contestants that were judged individually. For example, what if the fourth best dancer was better than a dancer that had already entered the 49? It would only be fair if the judges were allowed to take out people from the 46 contestants that had passed. It would’ve been a bigger problem if there were still a lot of big names to go though. Most of the best dancers have already secured a spot for themselves, so I think that’s why I’m not like, the most perturbed.

- I was low key waiting for Xiao Jie’s performance because his audition performance during episode 1 was so amusing. I thought his individual performance was fun! He managed to add some creativity and story telling (Chinese dude getting drunk) but also showcase some of his specialty skills (locking).

- I forgot to mention this before, but it amuses me that so the editing team will so diligently put in a “don’t try this at home” warning message whenever a dancer does a dangerous move haha.

- So the captains are doing a dance battle for the reborn event, but I’m not really sure how this is all gonna work. I’m digging Yixing’s look for the battle btw.

- Anyway, pre-battle hugs for all.

- KRUMPMASTER. Also I think he did some of the routine that he did back in Season 3.

- Not gonna lie, I wasn’t super impressed with Han Geng’s first dance but his second dance was pretty hype.

- Lol Yibo feels most comfortable challenging Yixing during his battles. He did move where he dropped onto his back right after Yixing did it (i.e. being like you can do it but I can do it better). Based on what I saw of season 3, I think Yibo would call out Yixing in his performances then too.

- Yixing was definitely heavy on the krump side, though I actually thought his first performance was really interesting because there was barely any krump in that one. He mostly stuck to other elements. As we got through the other rounds, he became more krump heavy, and I think he lost a bit in terms of variety there.

- The thing about Han Geng is that he’s no longer as athletic, so he relies more on power and control, but he needs to make sure he does the right moves that showcase that.

- I think Yibo impressed me the most. He had a lot of variety in his arsenal and he was very entertaining. He is also quite athletic, so as long as he can imagine it, I think he can do it haha.

- As others mentioned, Henry was extremely creative. He used a lot of dance moves to show a certain action, like tugging a rope or playing pool and such.

- Anyway, big hugs.

- Baby needs a nap.

- Yibo won the most points in the four rounds of the battle. This hug with Han Geng is uwu. Anyway, Tony Gogo mentioned that Yibo interpreted the music very well.

- Of course, Tony Gogo as well as the Gogo brothers praised Yixing for his krumping energy

- Philip said that Han Geng had a really good ear, and that was how he was able to take advantage of the best moments to unleash certain dances.

- The five contestants that were saved were A-wei, Boris, George, JC Jun, and Kelo & Uwa. I definitely think the editors purposely showed us more clips of them so that we’d grow attached lol. The only one of these five that I don’t quite remember is A-wei though. Anyway, very pleased that Boris is back haha.

- Pouty boi

- Yibo, Henry, Han Geng, and Ibuki getting really into 煞科 lol.

- I think next episode is going to have some team performances, which I think will be fun. Some of these teams are STACKED.

- Previews for Hot pot!

- They were talking about songs they listened to in their childhood. Han Geng started singing a song about an Office Black Cat? XD I’m guessing it’s a cartoon haha. Yibo listened to Leehom Wang and Jay Chou. Henry mentioned that he looked up to Leehom because he was also an overseas Chinese, plus he played a lot of instruments (just like Henry). As expected, Yixing looked up to Jay Chou (after all, Jay Chou was one of the earliest artists to popularize using Chinese elements in pop songs). Yixing said he also liked Leehom Wang, JJ Lin, and Khalil Fong (I legit have not heard the name 方大同 in a long time so that took me by surprise lol).

- Yibo mentioned Li Ronghao and Yixing was like OH WAIT YEAH HIM TOO. We know from Idol Producer that Yixing and Li Ronghao are bros haha. The captain says “不榮藝 組合” which pronounced the same as “不容易 組合” which is something like “unlikely duo,” except the the 榮 is from Li Ronghao’s name and the 藝 is from Zhang Yixing’s name lol.

- The robot spilled all the tea! Bad bot!

- I think they later played a listening game that Henry kept losing? lol

[zolotayafeya]

For the prompt thing: 11 or 16 for Otabek & Kadyr? And 27 or 28 for Otabek/Yuri? :D

(28 after the end of 16, beneath the cut)

16) things you said with no space between us

(Aha fun story I wrote a completely AU to NPM thing between Kadyr and Otabek that I intended to keep between only myself and two other people but since you’ve sparked an ask… DM me if you’d like a link to the Google Doc. Open invitation to any interested parties.) 

It’s quiet in Almaty. Kadyr thinks it must be the snow, because the city doesn’t sleep; he can see the headlights of cars flashing as they drive past. But this snow is thick and fluffy, and when he clenches his glove around a handful, it crumbles apart in his fingers in near silence. 

He likes to think he can see the stars past the clouds and the light pollution, here on top of the roof, the tops of the pine trees reaching for the edge of the sky and catching the snow as it falls. This is the kind of weather in which his mama would say Kadyr, you silly boy, come inside before you get sick and die, and it’s also the kind of weather in which he instead invites over all of his friends to leap off the roof on saucer sleds. If he’s going to get sick and die, he might as well have good company while he does it, right? 

It had ended with the six of them huddled together by the chimney in their winter coats, knit hats crammed over their heads and limbs tangled together in a web of familiarity. He’s missed this, this closeness; the year has taken Denis to London, threatened to spirit Amir away to California and been delayed, promised Dina a spot in Saint Petersburg and Otabek a life of constant travel chasing on the winds of success and ambition. Soon, he thinks it’ll just be him and Nura and sometimes Otabek, here and there; if things go the way he wants them to go, he might flee to France on the winds of Roxane’s laughter and never see any of the rest of them ever again. 

The quiet thunders ominously loudly in his ears. 

Gently, he lifts his head, listening for something beyond the steady breathing of his slumbering friends and the dampened sounds of humanity muffled in the snow. He squints in the darkness. “Beks?” 

“Mmf,” Otabek grunts, and Kadyr drops his head back to the roof, the cold biting into the leather of his jacket. 

“Do you ever get the feeling that… we missed something along the way?” Kadyr asks the black sky, orange streetlights mirrored in the clouds. “Like, I don’t know, we did all this fun, risky shit, but we’re fuckin’ grown-ups now, and we’re supposed to act like we know what’s going on, but I don’t know, I just-” He stops himself and sighs. “I don’t know, I’m just being sappy or whatever, but here we are, and tomorrow we’re all going to be going in different directions and that might be it, you know?” 

“Hey,” Otabek says. His clothes rustle as he sits up somewhere above Kadyr’s head. “This isn’t it. You corrupted us all too much for that.” Kadyr snorts, but it doesn’t match up with the storm brewing in his chest, sitting like a rock beneath his sternum. “Yeah, okay, but.” He clenches his fist again. “How’s Yura?” 

Otabek shifts again. “Fine,” he answers. “Stressed. But he’s learning. How’s Roxane?” 

“She was happy, the last time I called her.” Kadyr fumbles for his phone, flipping on the flashlight and pointing it at his collarbone, pulling aside his shirt and shivering as the cold air bites into his skin. “What’s it look like?”

Otabek leans over him, his hair dislodged from its slick under the black beanie pulled over his ears and poking out over his eyes. He scrutinises the mark for a moment. Kadyr can feel Otabek’s breath ghosting over his skin too, but he refuses to shiver again. “Green,” Otabek says after a moment. “And pink. Maybe a little bit of silver.” He pauses. “She’s probably sleeping now, hmm? I hope she’s thinking of you.” 

Kadyr bats at him and Otabek leans away to avoid it, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Kadyr tries to return it and finds that it’s a lot harder to make his face muscles work right. Otabek’s expression falls back to default. In the dark, without the phone flashlight, it’s impossible to tell if he’s thinking anything by the look in his eyes. 

“What?” 

Kadyr swallows and drops his head to the roof again, crossing his hands over his chest, like he has something to protect there. Which is absurd, because his heart’s not even here; it’s in a student flat in Paris, protected by an intelligent, funny, beautiful girl with the stars in her eyes. But it aches, sitting here in the quiet. 

“I’m going to miss this,” he says quietly, just in case someone else is awake. It seems too truthfully painful to speak out loud. “All of us here like this. Like we’re just… us, trying to do something else rebellious, something that would make Amir’s mama have a, a fucking heart attack or something. Having you to myself. Just… being here, in Almaty, like nothing’s changing.” 

Otabek says nothing. 

It takes Kadyr a solid five seconds to figure out why, and when he does, he swallows hard and closes his eyes, flinching from his words. “I mean, not, like, myself, I meant us, I meant us having you, us having each other-” 

“I know what you meant,” Otabek says quietly.

Kadyr does his best to swallow his tongue and fails. The mark on his collarbone burns, and for a moment, all he can think is fuck, I hope she’s not looking. 

It feels like years before Otabek’s gloved hand drops to his shoulder. Kadyr jolts hard enough to make Denis shift in his sleep, grumbling something unintelligible before he buries his face in the back of Amir’s coat, and with that the spell’s broken, tying Kadyr’s tongue back down to his jaw where it belongs. 

“What happened to wild nights?” Otabek asks when Kadyr doesn’t respond. “Pre-gaming before the clubs? Drinking too much vodka before the sun sets to ever be considered healthy?” He huffs softly. “I think we are growing up, Dyr. You just don’t realise it.” 

Ha, growing up. If Kadyr was actually growing up, he could handle this situation like a fucking adult, he thinks. Aching he doesn’t want to think about right here, right now, in the dampened sound of a city pretending it knows how to sleep when the snow falls. 

He closes his eyes again. Behind them rests a younger Beka, cheeks flushed red with too much vodka and something unsaid, smiling unfettered, murmuring Kadyr, I want to try it, see what all the fuss is about—

He opens his eyes. “We should probably wake them up, or we’ll actually freeze to death out here. Come on, I’ll throw a bunch of blankets on the floor or something because fuck if I’m driving anyone home this late.” 

Otabek hums in agreement, his hand hovering. Kadyr refuses to search for something that won’t be there in Otabek’s unwavering gaze. Eventually, Otabek shifts his fingers to gently shake Nuralia awake. 

27) things you said on the phone at 4 am

(Or, five times Otabek told Yuri to go to bed and the one time he didn’t)

“Do you ever wonder if some things were just meant to get screwed up?” Yuri asks the ceiling, his phone jammed against his ear and Potya purring hard enough on his chest to make his ribs vibrate. “Like, I dunno, flubbing a jump here and there and having to improvise the shit out of the rest of your routine to make up for it and all that make up comes out better than the original program. You know? Or like… like, fuckin, Viktor and Katsudon and their dumb ice dance program ready to steal the show and because of it we had to go running around looking for costumes and choreographing and splicing music together and shit, you know? Like those things, they’re just supposed to happen?”

“Go to bed,” Otabek says. “You’re thinking too hard.”

“Yeah, whatever, but what do you think?”

Otabek’s end of the line is silent for a moment. “I think that nothing’s meant to happen,” he answers, and yawns loud enough for Yuri to hear. “I… would hate for things to be so out of my control. Go to bed.”

“Yes, mother,” Yuri snarks.

~

“Beka,” Yuri says, and yawns hard enough that he sees stars. He blinks for a moment, disoriented, before he rolls over to keep himself from passing out. “You fucking, deserved bronze, you know? Like fuck the points system, I was so angry, fuck JJ, fuck the ISU, give him a goddamned medal, he deserved bronze.”

“Thank you,” Otabek says. “Now go to bed.”

~

“I’m drunk,” Yuri declares.

“I see,” Otabek says.

“No no no, you hear,” Yuri corrects, waggling his finger at his phone screen. “I’m drunk. I’m drunk.”

“I hear,” Otabek says. Yuri thinks he must be smiling on the other end, and it makes his whole body suddenly feel warm. Wow. Otabek smiling. Someone report it to the FSB and get that man arrested, because that should be illegal. It’s probably brilliant. Gorgeous. Fucking hot. And Yuri can’t even see it, the fuck?

“You have to earn it,” Otabek says, and wait, did Yuri say that out loud? Whoops. “Go to bed, Yura.”

“Never,” Yuri says, and passes out the moment his head hits the mattress.

~

“I want to move to Almaty,” Yuri decides. “Yeah, that sounds perfect. How do I start figuring out how to do that?”

“You don’t want to move to Almaty,” Otabek says, oddly quiet. “What about your coach? Your rinkmates? Your grandfather?”

“I mean yeah, but I don’t really see my grandpa all that often anyways and I think I’m a good enough skater for any coach and I miss your friends,” Yuri rambles, kicking his heels up the wall. “I miss you.”

“Go to bed,” Otabek says, and pauses. “And… I miss you too.”

“Knew it, I’m gonna move,” Yuri says, and smiles.

~

“I’m sorry, I just-” Yuri takes a gasping breath, curling his arm around his knees. “This is really fucking dumb but I haven’t been able to sleep and I just, I just wanted to talk to you because I shouldn’t be nervous about a, a fucking Challenger competition. I’m Yuri fucking Plisetsky. I’m the Ice Tiger of Russia, dammit! But I…” He swallows hard. “What if I’ve peaked already and I’m just… done and don’t know it yet?”

Otabek says nothing at first.

“Go to bed, meniñ altın,” Otabek says seriously. “You are capable. You are a hard-worker. If you don’t do well at this competition, do you truly care? It is the Grand Prix that is important. Euros. Worlds. The Olympics. So long as you skate carefully and avoid injury, your scores tomorrow will not matter. But rest today. You will win tomorrow.”

“How much you want to bet?” Yuri asks, his stormy heart settling a little.

“Anything you want,” Otabek says. “I know I will be right. Go to be-”

“Alright, alright, shut up, I’m going.”

~

“Yura,” Otabek murmurs. “I’m sorry. I know it’s late. But I wanted to hear your voice.”

“Careful what you wish for,” Yuri warns, his heart thundering away at a million miles an hour at Otabek’s tone. He checks the clock. 4:23. “I can talk for hours about shit you don’t care about. I can always tell when you’re not paying attention.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Otabek says, his voice low and gravelly. “I’m paying attention now.”

“Oh, you’d better be,” Yuri says, and kicks Potya off the bed.

Give me a number and a pairing! 

[broodingsoul]

60 Random Things About This Week’s So You Think You Can Dance

1.  Okay, back to New York auditions.

2.  Let’s see if Vanessa Hudgens makes me start a “Stupid Things Vanessa Hudgens Said THIS Week” list.

3.  I kinda hope she does.

4.  Cat doesn’t give Vanessa Hudgens any superlatives this episode, but we still have to hear about how Mandy Moore choreographed That Movie That Will Not Be Named Because I’m Fucking Done.

***

Magda & Kiki

5.  I don’t know what it is about their pre-audition package that makes me love them but I do.  I do love them.

6.  Also, Kiki could get it, just so y’all know.

7.  Y’all already knew that, didn’t you?

8.  I like them as dancers separately, but not necessarily as a couple, if only because I never saw them actually connect as a couple.  But watching them separately was a blast.  All of Kiki’s personality comes through when he dances—he’s funny, he’s sexy, he’s got decent moves—and Magda looks like if Drea de Matteo were a ballroom dancer, in all the best ways.  Super sexy, super talented, could probably fuck you up if she needed to.  I just don’t like them as a couple.  Also, the choreography was a little herky-jerky for me.  I’d like them to go to choreography, but they’ll probably get sent through.

9.  Oh look, they got sent through.  I am very good at this show.

10.  “I’d like to dance with him a paso doble, I tell ya.”  Attagirl, Mary.

***

11.  A bunch of random ballroom dancers who are good, but not good enough to merit an audition package.

12.  Claudia looks beautiful in blue and gold, and Jorge has some footwork I wish we could have seen.

13.  Jaryd Farcon has a questionable haircut and his dancing partner looks like Dr. Mark Greene’s daughter from ER who was played by Hallee Hirsh.

14.  I knew that name from memory, but I can’t tell you anything I learned from the biochem class that I studied for 10 hours a week.

15.  Allen Genkin looks like if Gumby were a really sexy ballroom dancer, and that is a sentence I never thought I’d say.  But that’s what this show does to me.

***

Zachary Downer

16.  I watched two seasons ago and I don’t remember Zachary Downer.  Take that for what you will.  He’ll make it to live shows, because that’s what happens when you come back.

17.  I like his choreography because it’s like he thought “what if tribal dancing and contemporary had a baby?” and then this is what came out.  He makes a lot of interesting shapes with his body, but I’m not excited about his dancing per se.  I can tell that he’s good, but the choreography—while interesting—is a little boring for me.  He falls out of the one pirouette pass he does, which is disappointing, but all the other technique is on point..  I’d be shocked if he didn’t make it to the Top 20 though.

18.  Vanessa Hudgens actually provides a cogent critique for once.  What world are we in?

19.  Nigel comments that the choreography as like Alvin Ailey, and Zachary nearly bursts into tears.  That’s beautiful.  I’m rooting for him now.

***

Ramita Ravi

20.  “I’m doing a mixture of classical Indian dance and contemporary” and I am fucking here for that.

21.  The choreography and the dancing are lovely, but Ramita isn’t hitting the pocket for me.  It might be because every time I start to pick up on a story, she looks out at the audience and smiles, so it feels like she’s not connecting to her own piece.

22.  “Oh my gosh, I love your hands, I want them,” breathes Vanessa Hudgens, coming dangerously close to a “Stupidest Things Vanessa Hudgens Said THIS Week” list.

23.  Ramita is through to choreography, which makes sense to me, because they didn’t see her pre-audition package where she was doing more and better dancing than in her audition, which I’m guessing the producers made her do so she could get airtime.

24.  I’m guessing.

25.  And then Vanessa Hudgens literally spent ten seconds watching her hands make shapes.  Goddammit, Hudgens.

***

Peter Mangione

26.  Oh my God, all of these people are like “I started dancing when I was six” “—when I was eight” “—when I was six.”  And then here come’s Peter Mangione’s fine-ass self:  “I started dancing about six months ago, and my friend said ‘You’re not that bad.’  I mean, I’m not good, but I’m not that bad.”

27.  I love him.

28.  “I’m not afraid to throw my body in any direction.”  Good, can you throw it in my direction?  Because goddamn.

29.  “I think it’s gonna be something nice for them to watch.”  With a body that looks like that, he Is Not Wrong.

30.  I mean, I’m not going to recap his choreography in the slightest bit, but if he started actually stripping, I wouldn’t be mad about it.

***

Arielle Disciascio

31.  I love Arielle and her mother Natalie a lot already.  “Don’t make me sound perfect.”  “Perfect?  You’re not.”

32.  The Disciascio Dames have the cancer backstory of this season’s auditions, but they are adorable, so I don’t mind the manipulation.

33.  Arielle’s body is RIDICULOUS.  Her control over it is stunning, her legs go on for 17 days, and she’s clearly technically proficient.  I can tell she used to be a competitive dancer, because at times she shows out to the audience instead of connecting with story.  But when she’s in the story, it’s incredibly captivating.  But it’s a little paint-by-numbers dancing.

34.  “At some point, I’d like to see you live life a little more dangerously.”  Good point from Mary.  I want to see her edges get roughened up a bit, because there’s beauty in that kind of mess.

***

35.  A bunch of familiar faces coming through.

36.  Jamie Greco’s boobs squeak, but I do not remember Jamie Greco.

37.  Chris Andrews has awesome highlighter yellow shoes and made it to Green Mile of Season 12, which I don’t remember, but I’m getting old, so ???

38.  Chase “Ctut” Lindsey has a couple of bombs he wants to drop on people, and that’s a terrifying thing to say.

39.  Jason Kidd looks like if John Deere learned how to pop and lock.

***

Romainson Romain

40.  Romainson spent the last year absolutely going Through It, and I hope to God he makes it to Top 20.

41.  He looks up to the heavens before he starts dancing to his cousin Marvin, and I’m already a mess.

42.  I can tell how much the audition means to Romainson, and although I don’t know how to critique his audition (the choreography isn’t quite there, the technique is lacking a bit—I guess I do know how to critique it), I can absolutely feel the emotion in the movement, and for me, that’s the most vital point of any artistic form.  Does it make me feel?

43.  “I feel life is weighing on you, and I want to lift it off of you and set you free.”  Fuck you, Vanessa Hudgens, for making me cry.

44.  Holy shit.  Mary has this amazing connection with Romainson, talking about grief and tragedy.  “You gotta take that next step.  And trust me, it’ll be okay.”  Her voice is choked with tears.  “You gotta dance!  You gotta live!  You gotta bring the joy back, and only you can bring the joy back.”  The audience applauds.  Vanessa Hudgens applauds.  Mary pays it no mind, because she has been where Romainson is right now, and she wants nothing more than for him to begin to heal.  “I want to see you come back and do the choreography, and let it go, because it’s okay!  You loved them.  They loved you.  They want you to shine!  You can do it!  You can do it”  Romainson looks like he is looking for something now.  His eyes still look sad, but they set a little bit, they focus a bit more.

“If we invite you back to choreography, can you shine?” Nigel asks.

“I will shine,” Romainson states.  His voice isn’t strong, but it has conviction.  In the audience, another auditioned is crying, wiping away tears.  She started to heal today, too.

“Yes to choreography, of course,” Vanessa Hudgens says, without any bullshit.  She feels this moment, too.

“Come back and shine,” Nigel demands.  Romainson steps away.  He doesn’t smile, his face doesn’t change expression, but there’s a new gleam in his eye that wasn’t quite there.  He almost feels the desire to smile.  There’s a new spark in him somewhere.  He begins to leave the stage.

“But first, come give me a hug!” Mary Murphy demands in that way of hers.  The audience cheers, the music becomes uplifting, spiritual.  Mary wraps Romainson in a hug; he clings to her.  “Thank you,” he murmurs.  “Be good,” she says.  “God bless you.”  “God bless you.”  The audience is still cheering, but they are the only ones who exist in this moment, because they are members of The Club who have found each other.  Romainson’s audition snagged a sliver of grief Mary thought had become completely smooth, until she realized grief can never be completely smoothed away.  Romainson learned that it’s okay to start smoothing the grief away.  Someone finally gave him permission to take sandpaper and steel wool and make the rough edges start to gleam again.  That the hole doesn’t have to be dark, and sad, and scary.  The hole can shine, a beautiful reminder of what used to be there.

45.  Goddammit, I love this show sometimes.  I needed that healing, too.

***

Marc “Fullout” Royale

46.  “Feeling good?”

“Yeah!”

“Feeling confident?”

“Yeah!”

“You got this?”

“Yeah.”

“Is this gonna be your bitch?”

“All of the above!”

47.  I’m pretty sure Fullout just fell in love with Cat Deeley.

48.  Fallout is a BIG BOY because he has BIG JOY and BIG MOOD in his body.  His dancing makes me happy.

***

Claire Rathbun

49.  I don’t like her.  I don’t know why.  But I don’t like her.

50.  But damn, she is a beautiful dancer, even if she is playing to the audience entirely too much.  Gorgeous lines, great spin passes.

52.  But I still don’t care.

***

Lex Ishimoto

“52.  Tell me about your audition, what are you going to do?”  “It’s an improv.”  IDK why Cat is so shocked, every single one of Melanie Moore’s solos was improvised.

52.  All episode long, the show has said that this is going to be the best audition of the season.  I hate that kinda hype because I am ALWAYS let down.  Don’t fuck me up, show.

54.  Okay.  That was one of the best auditions I’ve seen on this show.  His technique is amazing, he knows what his body can do, it was a nearly flawless audition.  But I hated knowing that it was improv, because it kept me from connecting to it.  Instead of being emotionally connecting for me, it was just clever.  Which, clever is fine, but clever doesn’t necessarily inspire me.  He will clearly make it through, most likely all the way to Top 20, but I want to see him emotionally connect to a routine, and see what comes out of that.

55.  That being said, his double-swipe jump was AMAZING, and the kind of power he can generate with his body is unbelievable.

***

56.  Oh God, it’s time for choreography.  PLEASE, Romainson.  PLEASE.

57.  Romainson makes it through, and I see a genuine smile, and his inner life is so beautiful.  I really hope he makes it to the Top 20.  I want this life to be amazing.

58.  Academy next week, for an even 100 dancers.

59.  Oh, and here’s a whole bunch of shit I wasn’t expecting:  there’s only a Top 10, and one of the choreographers says “I want you on my team!” and now I’m scared that they’re going The Voice on this ish.  YOU DON’T HAVE TO CHANGE WITH THE TIMES, SHOW.  JUST BE YOU.  I JUST WANNA SEE DANCING.

60.  Also shirtless men.  BUT DANCING.