LDS Twilight

Wow. I can't really think of a more appropriate word for this. There wasn't an option to embed the video straight to my blog, but you HAVE to check this out:

Twilight Years

SYTYCD SEASON 6- TOP 8: The Follow-Up

Oh my gosh, what a shocking night! First of all, I was soooo happy that Kathryn was totally safe, but then I was completely surprised that Ashleigh was save too despite not even performing (good for her!) I was happy to see Mollee in the bottom, but with it between her and Ellenore I thought for sure it would be Ellenore out cause Mollee has had this incomprehensible huge following all season, and I was super sad, cause Ellenore has been my second favorite girl. But it ended up Mollee gone! You may be surprised to hear it, but this pleases me ;P

I wasn't really surprised about Legacy and Ryan being the two guys in the bottom, but I was pretty astounded that it was Legacy out this week and not Ryan. I thought Legacy deserved to stay more, but I guess the sentimental in me thinks its nice that the married couple gets to be together in the Finale next week.

Guess it didn't really matter about all these bottom people anyway though, cause face it, Jakob is winning the whole shebang next week ;)

Here's my faves, Kathryn & Jakob! Please oh please get to dance together next week!!

SYTYCD SEASON 6- TOP 8

Okay, so, the layout of the week was:

Kathryn & Ryan: Disco & Cha Cha- Man I was a little worried for Kathryn at first because Ryan is my least favorite boy and those are not the two best styles for a Contemporary dancer to prove herself, but she's great, so they both worked out ;) Disco is definitely not my favorite style, but it was a very fun routine and they looked like they were having fun too. Cha Cha was perfect to have Ryan for a partner since his style is Latin Ballroom, and Kathryn did awesome, with great praise from the judges, I was happy to see.

(This video shows both their routines)


Mollee & Jakob: Viennese Waltz & Broadway- I loved the choreography in their first number but their second was just okay. I adore Jakob as always, but I still am just not getting how over the moon the judges are about Mollee. Yeah she did a good job in both, but they absolutely rave about her every time and I just don't get it. I think she is a fantastic dancer but I just don't feel like she has a ton of performance charisma or grace. She is very athletic and always gets the steps right, but I am never drawn to watching her. Whenever she dances to great choreography the whole time I am thinking, 'I wish I could have seen Kathryn dance that piece, or Jeanine, or Kayla, or Katee, or Sabra...' I don't NOT like her, I just don't get the big deal. I still think Jakob is for sure winning the whole thing, and I am good with that. He is incredible.





Ellenore & Legacy: Contemporary & Hip Hop- This was a very fun pairing because they are both so quirky. Their first routine was a-maz-ing. It was choreographed by Travis Wall, so of course it was. The timing was super tricky and they pulled it off beautifully. Their second routine I was disappointed with. At first I thought they had hit routine gold for the night with a Travis Wall Contemporary and then a Tabitha & Napoleon Hip Hop, but it just didn't happen. I typically love NappyTab routines, but this one fell flat. It was trying to be super funky but was really just kind of anticlimactic. Love them both though, and I hope they are safe.





Ashleigh & Russell: Hip Hop & Bollywood- this particular couple had some issues though, because the day before the performances Ashleigh pulled her right arm out really bad during rehearsal and couldn't perform on the show, so she was in the clips of the rehearsals, but for the performances Russell had to dance with the assistants of his respective choreographers. Poor guy. This is not the first time he has had to do this- back in like, Top 18 week or something his partner was Noelle and she was injured for the week and he had to perform with someone random. He was really, really great in both numbers, but it is definitely distracting to see a dancer you know dancing up there with a stranger. I feel bad for Ashlee because of course this is going to hurt the voting for her and there is nothing she can do about it. Its down to the wire though now anyway, and honestly, since I am fully aware that Mollee is going nowhere, Ashleigh was already my bottom girl, injury or not.





Just hoping Kathryn makes it through to next week and will be paired with Jakob!

Castle

So last year a new show on ABC started called Castle. It just sort of had a half season in the Spring but then got picked up to come back for a second season this Fall. My cousin Melanie, a woman of excellent taste, mentioned positive reviews about it on her blog in the Spring, and I simply need to concur. It's a procedural drama which isn't typically my cup of tea. (Can I use that idiom if I don't actually drink tea?) Procedural dramas, which are typically focused on police or courtroom stories, usually bore me- I was never into NYPD Blue or any of the Law & Order shows. I liked CSI for the first couple of seasons just because it was so new and different, but soon got over it. For me, its more about the characters than the crime plot. So I only like procedural dramas like the late Ally McBeal or the current Bones or The Mentalist because they have more humor and story arcs than traditional procedural dramas and they have quirky, likable casts.

Castle falls into this category. It stars the wonderful cult favorite Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a famous and arrogant mystery novelist who starts following a straight-laced female detective around to use her as a model for the lead character, Nikki Heat, in a new novel he is writing. She (Det. Kate Beckett, played by the lovely Stana Katic) is of course, not thrilled about this, but he is buddies with the Mayor and gets his way. Creative author that he is, he actually ends up quite an asset to the team, and as they both start to actually like each other but don't want to admit it, hilarity ensues. Currently in the show, the book he was writing based on Det. Beckett, a novel called Heat Wave, was just released with rave reviews and he just got a deal to make it a series and write three more novels based on the Nikki Heat character, aka, Det. Becket, and so she is stuck with him. A fun twist to the traditional crime drama show, and I can't imagine anyone but Nathan Fillion playing Castle.

Well, the writers of the show in reality actually wrote a full novel of Heat Wave, supposedly by 'Richard Castle,' complete with a dedication to the Becket character and reviews by real-life authors, and it came out this past Sept. 29th:

I would have read it right when it came out, but it actually had a bit of a waiting list at the library, which makes me happy, because I presume that means there are a lot of Castle fans out there. It was, as expected, a fairly typical detective mystery- clever, dramatic, sexy and action-packed. What is really interesting is that it really feels like the character Richard Castle wrote it. You can feel him in the humor and can picture the smug look that would have been on his face after writing a particularly ingenious plot twist or witticism. It was very entertaining, though I admit I probably would have just shrugged it off as one-more-generic-detective-novel if I wasn't having so much fun picturing the characters represented from the show and imagining what their reactions would be to reading it. So the book is not a Must Read, but the show, for me, is definitely a Must Watch. The show is on ABC on Monday nights at 9pm. (It got picked up for a full season- yay!)

SYTYCD SEASON 6- TOP 10: The Follow-Up

Gah!! I was NOT happy about Kathryn being in the bottom two. As much as I like Ashleigh, I really thought she would be in the bottom with Noelle. I definitely agree with Noelle getting voted off though. As for the boys, I am not sad at all about Nathan getting voted off, but I was a little surprised because I presumed he had a bigger following than that. I thought of those two it would have been Ryan, but alright, lets let the marrieds be together another week ;) Please let Kathryn have an awesome week next week! Maybe/hopefully/please, oh, please let her get Jakob as a partner. PS, Love the use of Billy Joel in the opening group number!

SYTYCD SEASON 6- TOP 10

Here's my two cents cause I'm such a dance expert: K, so first off, I have officially decided that my favorite girl is Kathryn. I worry about her getting votes though because she isn't as prominent of a personality and that can lead to flying under the radar, but I think she consistently steals the show from her partners and just has a captivating presence and really looks like she means what she is dancing. I think it hurt her that they didn't showcase her right from the tryouts like they did with, say, Mollee. Kathryn is sort of the Kayla of last year for me- consistently amazing, but not as noticeable because she is such a serene personality. When she gets on that dance floor though, wow. Love her. Favorite guy since the beginning has been Jakob, no question. Even without the fact that he is BF with my beloved Jeanine from last season, though it doesn't hurt, he is adorable and completely incredible. If I had to guess right now I would say Jakob is going to win the whole thing. Love him. I cannot wait to see Kathryn & Jakob dance together.

So the dances and partnerships of the week were as follows:

Ryan & Noelle- Hip Hop & Waltz: The Hip Hop was fun and I agree with the judges that Noelle finally seemed a little more adult instead of just her normal cutesy in this number. Don't get me wrong, I like her, but I think she is the weakest of the girl dancers left. I had a good laugh after the Waltz when Nigel made the comment about them seeming like a Disney prince and princess because that is exactly what Ash and I were sitting and talking about during the dance. With that blue silky shirt and his chest bulging dramatically and his perfectly parted and slicked hair, Ryan looked like he should be playing Prince Eric (or perhaps Gaston?) at Disney.

Ashleigh & Legacy- Contemporary & Hip Hop: The first one I really liked. It was creative and entertaining. The lacking of the second routine was totally not their fault, it was the weak choreography and the cheesy/dramatic costumes. Over-the-top costumes can work, but only if the routine is playful or satirical, like the crash test dummies with Ashley & Kupono last season, or the zombie group routine in season two. I found myself rolling my eyes at this one. I though Ashleigh held her own, but I think this new partnership is showing how much Kathryn carried Legacy.





Kathryn & Nathan- Broadway & Rumba: Broadway can often fall flat, and this coming from a declared show tunes fanatic, but they aced it. So good to see Nathan with someone new, though I still think he is overrated. The judges, except for token judge #3 Adam Shankman, thank you Adam, were hard on the Rumba. I completely agree that Nathan had no passion, but come on people, Kathryn absolutely smoldered in this routine. I felt like, though he dances beautifully, Nathan was really just there to showcase Kathryn in both of these numbers. (Do I sound partial? ;)





Ellenore & Jakob- Quickstep & Contemporary: She is soooo likable and he is soooo amazingly bendy. They had a great night. There is no way either of them is in the bottom. Quickstep is not my favorite, but they looked fabulous and did a good job. Their Contemporary was my favorite number of the night. Sonya is quickly becoming my favorite choreographer with Mia gone.





Mollee & Russell- Lyrical Jazz & Jive: Though I thought both of these were great choreography and very well danced, I didn't quite get how over the moon the judges were about this couple and their amazing chemistry. I didn't feel it. I just can't get myself to take Mollee seriously for some reason, even though I will happily acknowledge that she is a very athletic dancer and seems very sweet, and I actually really like Russell, but I was a little surprised by just how fanatical the judges were about them. I wish I could jump on the Mollee bandwagon with everyone else, but just can't quite. I enjoyed both of the numbers but I didn't feel the numbers. If that makes sense ;)

(I couldn't find the Jive)

I actually didn't agree with a lot of the judging tonight and I think its because this is the first week the judges don't get any real say in who gets voted out, so they have to speak up for their favorites while they have any pull. I'm thinking that tonight the girl voted off will be either Noelle or Ashleigh and the guy voted off will be either Ryan or Legacy.