Friday, July 12, 2013

Happy Dance Friday #120 - Precious Jade and Paso Fik-Shun

I knew something was up when the opening number was a man down on this week's SYTYCD, and when Cat Deely announced it was Jade who was injured, please refer to gif above. Before last year brought the guys from Dragon House to my attention, I didn't know animation was a dance style, but the precision, the technicality, the unusualness of it all drew me in. When Vegas week came down to a battle between Jade and fellow animator Blu-Print, I watched with the attention of an avid sports fan (and this coming from a woman whose first trip to a major leage baseball game was spent regretting the book she'd left in the car) because I didn't want to see either of them out of the competition. I cheered when Stacey Tookey (who is amazing) decided that the show needed both dancers, because I did and do agree, and losing one to injury, well, it stinks.



Jade, we're going to miss you. Stay strong, get better, dance another day.

SYTYCD knows how to soothe disappointed fans, though, especially since I'd been wanting to see Fik-Shun draw ballroom. Not only did he draw ballroom, but Paso Doble, my favorite Latin dance. The dance of the bullfight, known in some ballroom circles as the man's dance; dark, dramatic, life or death, carried out with a sense of showmanship. In short, this dance always makes me happy, and to see it carried out that well by a favorite contestant, that's a happy dance for sure.



On the off chance that I do have some mystical tie to the selection process (hey, I do write fiction, so allow me the possibility)I would love to see this gent matched with some Travis Wall choreography. Just saying. Putting it out there. What about you, dance fans?

Friday, July 05, 2013

Happy Dance Friday #119 - Pure Fik-Shun

Is there any way I could resist a dancer whose professional moniker is Fik-Shun? Well, no, and when he dances like this young man, it's like capturing the essence of a happy dance in a bottle. I love the joy and the energy radiating from every move, so couldn't keep it down to only one clip.

One of my favorite parts of the cattle call auditions is watching the reactions of the judges when one of the really great dancers takes the stage. tWitch's reaction says it all, and the fact that Adam Shankman didn't wait until the audition was over to get on his feet...oh, there is promise there.



I'm always interested to see if the self taught dancers can take the professional choreography, especially in genres extremely different from their usual, and have to say I wasn't at all suprised that Fik-Shun was nothing short of amazing in his first Sonya Tayeh routine. Gorgeous.



Oddly enough, I'm reminded here of my father's favorite quote from Pablo Picasso, "Painting is a lie that helps us see the truth." While I wouldn't call any of the arts a lie, for me, there's a lot of truth to be found in fiction, and I think in Fik-Shun as well. Can't wait until he pulls ballroom. Fingers crossed for next week.

How about you, dance fans? Any early favorites, or too soon to call?