Happy Dance Friday #121: Tuckered out and the Brothers Tidwall

Yep, this is my reaction to most eliminations at this stage of the game, because let's face it, when we get down to the top eight out of how many thousands of dancers who auditioned, everybody's good, and saying goodbye to anybody hurts. Given my druthers, I'd keep everybody and form a dance company, but A) I am not yet a billionaire and B) SYTYCD is a contest. Even so, this one, well, this one hurt.

I knew it was going to be hard when my brain "got" it that Fik-Shun and Tucker were in the bottom two for the men. First, there was the surge of "Do not make me choose, people" and then the solos. I loved them both. I want them both. As I've said to DH, if I had a production company and asked a talent agency to send me a male dancer, I'd be thrilled if either of those gentlemen walked through the door. So, either way, it was going to hurt.

Tucker Knox, whose name I would totally steal if I were writing contemporary romance, who waxed eloquent about knowing how fortunate he was to have a father who supported his dance career when many other male dancers do not have that help, who won my creative affection forever in this cha cha:



...I am going to miss your weekly presence.

Even so, it's not goodbye-goodbye, thanks to the magic of YouTube, which is a good thing. There are those moments that I dearly wish every creative person could have, where art and life transcend the boundaries and make something that is beautiful and true and has a life of its own. Which is where we get to the Brothers Tidwall.



Normally, portmanteau names make me itchy, but I'm going with this one, because the sheer poignant beauty of the routine Travis Wall choreographed for Tucker and all star Robert, of one brother helping another up from rock bottom, pierced right to the heart. Though Travis has other brothers, the fact that this story was told in dance told me immediately it was probably Danny Tidwell who inspired the brother's character.



Mr. Tidwell, (as apparently, I am addressing dancers directly today) I don't know what challenges you've faced, but know that watching you dance live on the SYTYCD tour was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life, and was a special treat during a very dark and trying period of mine. Such is the power of story and dance.

Never Too Late In More Ways Than One.

Never Too Late was concieved during a writing group I attended some years back, along with Melva Michaelian and M.P. Barker. We'd been given a suggestion and were to write whatever came to mind, keeping pen in motion, until the moderator called time. I don't think I had any idea what I was going to write, and then, there it was, and I was in turn of the century England (and later, Italy) in the mind of a heroine ready to chuck it all and go after what she's always wanted.

It wasn't until the story was complete and had spent some time marinating that I noticed I'd never given my heroine a first name, and calling her "Mrs. Sinclair" in query letters and promotional materials was going to get clunky. She ended up being Amelia, and I managed to slip that information in there in a not too clunky manner. Being that this was a novella, and e-publishing then was different from e-publishing now, I wasn't sure where a shorter work should go, but lo and behold, one of Awe-Struck E-books' then-co-owners was starting a new venture, and looking for such stories. Perfect fit, but then life happened, and "Never Too Late" ultimately went to Uncial Press, along with "Queen of the Ocean."

Today, while walking in the park, thinking about writing and future projects, I spotted a man with a long silver ponytail walking the path in front of me. He wore khaki shorts and had text tattoos on the back of both calves. Though I can't have tatoos myself for medical reasons, I'm intrigued by the art form, and of course wanted to see what his said. I stepped up my pace and then stopped in my tracks.

On the backs of both legs, in all capital letters, were the words, "Never Too Late." Important words, those, important enough for a man of some experience to have them inked onto his body more than once, big and bold. Nothing to do with my story, I am beyond sure, though I did make a sound not unlike a squeal at seeing those words. Only a small one, mind, and I did remember that it's not socially acceptable to chase down strangers and quiz them about their body art. Still, it does make me wonder. What, exactly, was the story behind this gent's tattoos? What was it never too late for, for him? Why on the calves, and why, for that matter, both calves instead of only one? Was the phrase a reminder? A warning? A mantra? A prayer? A motto? And why, for that matter, did this total stranger with this phrase, repeated, cross my path on that particular walk while I was thinking those particular thoughts? Coincidence, maybe. Grand design, maybe. Either way, pretty cool, and I headed for home, my writerbrain fortified. On with the next book. BTW, if you're curious about "Never Too Late" itself, you can read the first chapter and/or grab it here: https://www.uncialpress.com/never-too-late.html

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?

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?

Happy Dance Friday #118, Everything's Better With Monkees

Meant to post this bright and early, but then I opened a Word file, and well, :shifty eyes: I found I'd spent most of the day in England after an outbreak of the Black Death. Writing life will do that to a person. I regret nothing.

Only when I opened this file did I remember I hadn't blogged about the SYTYCD auditions or the first week of competition, (or blogged at all for roughly a month, eep,) so stay tuned. This looks like a really interesting year, but for now, this Monkees classic fits: