SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE — Page 2

It was great to see Natalie again; I was sad when she was let go last season. The authenticity the judges noted really struck me in both of her auditions. I also really like the first girl from New York.

As for Mary, I used to get really annoyed by her- still do, sometimes. But she grew on me and she really knows her stuff when critiquing ballroom.

Well, I'm pretty sensitive to sights and sounds. At this point, I still don't want to hear her, so I may just mute the tv when she's on, because I do like to watch the dancing.

---

I agree doodle. The judges definitely could have handled that much better. Laughing in their faces was completely unnecessary. The only good point I heard came from Mary when she said that she was confused and distracted when they kept switching the "male" and "female" roles of ballroom dancing. I think that was a perfectly acceptable thing to say since that's the type of thing a ballroom choreographer looks at.

---

I love Cat, but anyone who doesn't think that Ryan Seacrest is superb at his job, has no clue what his job entails.

Good or not, I fast-forwarded every time Ryan opened his mouth. I watch and listen to Cat. She is superb. True, she doesn't ogle and practically make out with the contestants, but it's one of the things I like about her.

That human being who sits in the middle with her mouth open in a square shape who just screams bloody murder or cackles like a witch is too much for me to take. Why is she permitted to carry on like that?

Mary is definitely an acquired taste. She annoyed me a bit at first, too. But then I listened to her comments and critique and she is really fantastic. She (as well as all the judges) are incredibly constructive and supportive. Her reaction to the last auditionee last night (I forget his name, but he got booted at the end of the Vegas auditions last season).

Yes, I agree Nigel handled the male/male ballroom couple poorly, especially when he said it would alienate some audience members. I think he was rather out-of-touch and short-sighted. I do not believe he is homophobic, however. I don't think this show has as strong of a Christian conservative demographic as American Idol and the show has strongly supported gay contestants in the past. Had the guys actually watched the show and the audition process, they would have realized how poorly prepared they were for the audition. But it was clear they were there to promote same-sex ballroom dancing and they made it through to the choreography round, despite a rather sloppy performance, and they accomplished their task. If they had hoped to make it to the top 20, then they were simply delusional if they thought the audition was going to get them through.

I really only thought they were treated unfairly, in part, by Nigel. Mary and Sonya were obviously jarred by the performance, as they were by many others, but in their critique, they made some valid points in their difficulty with following the partnership, given their own backgrounds and experience in the traditional form, which was not adhered in the men's performance. I think if both men were strong performers, they could have come up with a better routine (and costumes) that would have wowed the judges and the audience, but they just didn't know how to execute their performance in a way that was moving or effective. The show has M/M performances every season that are strong, artistic and entertaining (and you can't tell me Benji and Travis rolling around in stage with their faces planted deep into the others crotch was NOT homoerotic). These guys just didn't do their homework and for the most part, I reacted similarly to the judges. It was like the ribbon boy from Julliard last season (?) who couldn't believe his wildly flamboyant gestures weren't masculine (though his audition was far superior to the M/M pair last night).

---

Updated On: 5/22/09 at 12:44 PM

I only wish she wouldnt let the audience say "jidges!"

Yeah, it's a little obnoxious.

---

Andy Towle was offended - and so were most of the responders to his blog post.
Link.

I guess there's no HOT TAMALE TRAIN in your future, Jane!

Ok, so I read the Towleroad article which does shed some rather damning light on Nigel and I would hope we get a response from Nigel himself on the subject. That being said, the article does have its rather biased inaccuracies to paint Nigel as a villain to the gay community which I simply don't buy. The used examples of his prior "homophobic" comments which included his saying a dancer performed "like someone's taken a broomstick and shoved it up where the sun don't shine". Saying you look like you have a stick up your ass is not homophobic. And the effeminate ribbon-boy again. The kid was quite effeminate and since the competition demands its performers to assume characters and roles of both strong masculinity and soft femininity from both sexes, it was a valid concern. When the kid challenged Nigel on his comment, it totally backfired on him (and "backfired" is not meant as a homophobic comment).

Putting it all into perspective, I find the whole incident, including Nigel's comments FAR less homophobic and disrespectful than the sickening bile constantly spewed by Cowell an Secrest on American Idol purposefully staged to generate buzz and boost ratings.

---

I have to admit, I love the Hot Tamale Train.

---

Nigel is very tough on any male dancer that does anything the considers to be "unmasculine".
Watch for the finals and he will pick apart those guys and say things about the look in their face and the way they moved their hand and stuff like that.

Jane - That is what she does when she does the train. She goes, "You are BACK on that train.....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

---

Ah yes. Then it is two totally different things.

---