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'Step It Up & Dance' brings the spice to your life
I'm a big supporter of Bravo reality shows. Hell, I even liked Shear Genius and tolerated the yawn-inducing Top Design. So when I heard about Step It Up & Dance, I decided to overlook the horribly clunky title and check it out.
My verdict? Eh. Not bad, but I'm waiting to be wowed. Meanwhile, you can enjoy my spoilers.
OMG! It's Elizabeth Berkley of Showgirls fame. Will she always conduct her hosting duties sideways to better accentuate her svelte figure? (Okay, forget the title. This is the cheesiest theme song ever ... after the Paradise Hotel 2 one.)
The 12 dancers converge in a Downtown LA dance studio where at least two of them (yeah, they're gay men) are besides themselves when La Liz enters. Michael even does the signature Showgirls hand gesture, which she returns. Okay, points for that. She may be cooler than I think. Oh, and Tony-winner/mentor Jerry Mitchell is also there.
Is it just me, are do most of these people look way older than they are? I mean, they're obviously fit, but even 18-year-old Janelle looks like she's in her 20s. And don't get me started on Mochi (30), Adriana (25) and Miguel (24?!?). Why would dancing take a toll on their faces?
After the "get to know you" phase, the dancers get treated to a night on the town. Okay ... has none of them watched a reality show? They must ALWAYS be on. Sure enough, after dancing freestyle at a club where Nicole shows off her go-go dancer moves and Oscar *gasp* takes off his shirt, the background extras leave and they face choreographer Jamie King (not to be confused with the actress formerly known as James King).
Audition - They must dance on command, switching their dance style whenever the music switches to a new genre. It's pretty amusing, if somewhat embarrassing. King splits them up into two groups: the winners and the losers, aka the elimination group because one of them will go home. Each group has to learn a separate routine from choreographers Nick Florez and RJ Durell to the Spice Girls' "Spice up Your Life," Miguel's favorite SG's song ever. I had forgotten that song. Maybe I never knew it.
Meanwhile, the go-golicious Nicole has been feeling crappy since the previous night because of a bad footwear decision. It's even worse now, and after going to the hospital, discovers it's a muscle tendon tear. Sadly, she's out, done in by fashion. But hey, there's still an exciting elimination ahead.
As an added twist, each of the dancers have to do a freestyle that best expresses them to two eight-counts at the end of the routine. Miguel isn't happy. I don't get it. Isn't a dancer supposed to enjoy expressing themselves?
Finally, it's performance time, and I think the losers' routine is the better of the two. Nick and Cody have no reason to be in the group. I hate to say this, but true to form with many Bravo shows, the women are lackluster.
Performance Breakdown:
The Winning Group
Jessica - The poor girl ran out in the middle of the performance! If I were Miguel, I'd bitch slap her. I mean, she's cute and willowy, but I have serious reservations about her ability to handle stress. She's always crying, even when she's happy. And for that, I hope they keep her around a while.
Mochi & Janelle - I agree with the highly annoying judge/choreographer Vincent Paterson. They're both dancing like angry men. They're about the sass, and less about the spirit and energy.
Michael - He makes no impression on me. That's not really good.
Miguel - Okay, he and James being the Plastics from Mean Girls is just annoying. His ability to irk me carries over into his dancing. He does have the first best line of the night though when judge/choreographer Nancy O'Meara says he needs to butch up his dance. "Did I look like a f*g on stage?"
James - Actually, I dig his style. It was cool and unique, and I thought he should have won.
The Losers
Cody - Yeah, he's a star, but was there any doubt, considering his experience? Lovely extension. If he doesn't make any big mistakes, he should get to the finals.
Nick - Because he always looks AND sounds like he's making a joke, I like him. Add to it that he's a pretty snappy dancer, and he's my favorite so far. I could do without the neckbeard though.
Oscar - Eh. I agree with the judges. He was soft.
Adriana & Tovah - I thought both of them were a mess and fell behind. When Tovah tries to say that she's bad at hip-hop because she's more ballet, she prompts the second best line of the night from guest judge Mel B.: "You're black! Come on. What are you talking about?" And let's not forget that Mel herself learned a new dance style on Dancing With the Stars.
In the end, the judges say "step it up" way too many times, Janelle wins (when it should have been James), and Adriana gets the well-deserved boot. Thankfully, we are not subjected to a last dance.
Who do you love? Who do you hate? What dance styles do you want featured?
Nick, He IS the best by far. Like him a lot.
Gwen | Apr 4, 2008 5:13:49 AM | #Yes, there was a last dance. Remember Adriana twirling around all by her lonesome in the empty studio, a la the eliminated chefs packing their knives and eliminated designers packing their materials?
Beth | Apr 4, 2008 8:17:37 AM | #I have to sheepishly admit I really liked this.. even though I was very prepared to hate it after the disaster known as Top Design.
Stacy | Apr 4, 2008 9:33:03 AM | #I went to college with James. He is such an amazing performer.
UNC | Apr 4, 2008 1:03:34 PM | #I loved it! :]
David | Apr 4, 2008 2:48:47 PM | #I didn't see anything wrong with the losing group. I like Adriana so much in fact I noticed that the editing was horrible...her hair is up or down in every other frame, meaning they ran through it couple of times and edited how they wanted. I know she was safe, but Jessica should have gotten the boot.
Andy | Apr 4, 2008 3:20:44 PM | #I REALLY LOVE THIS SHOW. Finally a show that really shows what a dancers life is like. I can't wait to see what happens to Miguel, James and hot hot hot Tova. Can't stand Jessica. What's all the crying about. I think she will be going home next.
Dancer in the dark | Apr 4, 2008 11:28:04 PM | #Agree, Jessica is annoying!!!
Cody is HOT! I've saw him in Moving out. He's got all the right moves.
Sarah | Apr 4, 2008 11:32:42 PM | #It would be nice if a dance-oriented show either recognized that there is more (MUCH more) to dance than club oriented hip hop and pop moves OR limit the contestants to those who specialize in that genre of dance. Clearly people like Tova and Oscar are out of their element here because both are trained in classical ballet. Based on the limited amount of time they were allowed to show off their ballet skills, the two of them appear to be very good at what they do. With that said,excellence at one form of dance does not mean you will excel at another.
The whole good group/bad group thing is the show's biggest mistake. Well, the first mistake was allowing that decision to be made by Jamie King. I don't care who the guy has "worked" with. He's the same hack who served as a judge on the ill-fated revival of DANCE FEVER a few years back...and he is currently working with Celine Dion. Enough said!! Not only did the dancers he chose as his "bad" group clearly out dance the "good" group, the former was down a member (thanks to the post-injury departure of Nicole). Even more embarrassing, one member of the "good" group (Jessica) actually ran off stage mid-routine. Her excuse: people were "suddenly moving all around me." Huh?!? Sweetie, put down the glass pipe and wake up. It's a show about dance. You're a dancer. That means movement. Good group or not, she should have been kicked off on the spot.
There are a number of really good dancers in the mix and a few of them are probably the exact type this show is looking for. Of course, if I have to listen to that God-awful Miguel wax poetic about how wonderful he is for more than a few weeks, this is one show that I will not be tuning into. Miguel, before you insult those who clearly have more poise and training than you do, how about washing that nasty head of hair and doing something about your snaggle teeth?
Ron H. | Apr 5, 2008 3:41:41 AM | #It's a new day for Elizabeth...this is the best show on television right now, and Elizabeth is finally out of the shadows of the her misunderstood performance in Show Girls.
The show's a bloody mess. The actual dancing is a small fraction of the show. How does that happen? Maybe because the choreography of those performances was about as good as my high school drill team. Those "solos" were crap and why oh why would they feature "Spice World"? I don't understand how such a bad dance show can be on. I'm a huge fan of SYTYCD and sometimes DWTS is tolerable, but Dance with your mom is better than this. I said this to my friend Jen today, "Get Better...please".
David O | Apr 6, 2008 5:27:41 PM | #the show is brutal! elizabeth berkeley needs to forgot celebrity and just marry some dirty old man - she's so freaking tacky. and i agree... none of these dancers look anything near the young(er) ages they claim. have people been dancing on their faces?
but i will continue to watch because i like to see these contestants flame out - will be rooting for nick & moochie.
I just decided to catch up on a rerun of this out of curiosity. What I found out is that Adriana was from my town! I was rooting for her, but saw her struggling so I was a little disapointed. Would have loved to seen a Shrewsbury girl go further.
I haven't decided if the cheese factor is too high for me to watch much longer or not. I'll check out one or two more episodes and decide.
I agree with Ron H. as far as the different styles, however So You Think You Can Dance has many, many different style of dancers and they make it really work. I like SYTYCD way, way better. Can't wait until May!!
genniel | Apr 10, 2008 9:02:06 AM | #Hmmm...let's see...a dance show that doesn't even show the whole dancer? The majority of these people are accomplished and skilled dancers and we don't even get to see them move. What's up with that? If the show is banking on personalities to carry the day, it took a big hit with the departure of Nicole. She was the only hot girl on the show who could balance out all the annoyingly arrogant gay guys. Every dance show should have a hottie who can get up on a bar and bust a move. I'm seriously bummed that she got hurt. I guess I will just have to pull for Nick...at least he has some personality.
Bethany | Apr 10, 2008 4:04:19 PM | #I went to college with Miguel and he is a fierce dancer in MANY disciplines.(and YES he's 24)
You need to have a tough skin in this business and a confidence level that sometimes can air on the side of being conceded(whether you're vocal about it or not). Period. The end. It can really make you stand out of the crowd if you have the talent to back it up because you are fighting to be noticed at these auditions. To show you are special and different. To make people look at you.
In competition everyone's claws come out and that's why someone who says how they feel(like Miguel) is perfect for these kinds of shows. The producers can edit it to look like whatever they want and it keeps people watching all of the footage when they're not dancing, which is what they're being judged on by anyway, not if they're the sweetheart on the block.
I think, technically trained, talented, driven people like Miguel, Janelle and Cody are going to make it far in this competition and in the rest of the dance world because they take their opportunities to show what they've got. You can already see that by looking at their resumes.
Should be a fun ride. I do agree with one comment that said they hope they showcase other dance forms. I hope they challenge these dancers in a way they challenge the dancers on "So You Think You Can Dance". That show is absolutely brilliant!:)
Sassy | Apr 11, 2008 10:47:18 AM | #wow... what a great show. At first I thought they were keeping Nick on because he has such a great sense of humor, is entertaining.. He has REALLY shown us, HE IS A DANCER. What a great person, amusing and CAN REALLY STEP IT UP...
tissy | May 31, 2008 10:49:26 PM | #
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