Mason Wins "So You Think You Can Dance Season 5" Competition

The finale of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) America Season 5 was telecast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles on August 5 & 6. The host for the show was the bubbly Cat Deeley, and judges were Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Mia Michaels, Tyce Dioro, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen and Lil' C. Competiting in the finale were the top 4 finalists, namely, Jeanine Mason, Brandon Bryant, Evan Kasprzak and Kayla Radomski.

Jeanine Mason, a 18 year old contemporary dancer from Pinecrest, Florida was voted as the winner of So You Think You Can Dance America Season 5. With that she also won the title of America's Favorite Dancer as well as a cash prize of US$250,000. During the finale, Jeanine performed two jazz routines, a contemporary dance, the paso doble and a solo in her own style. The runner up was Brandon with Evan and Kayla coming in third and fourth respectively.

The dances that were performed during Season 5 of So You Think You Can Dance America included ballroom (waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango & Viennese waltz), Latin American (cha cha cha, rumba, jive, samba & paso doble), hip hop, contemporary, Broadway, jazz, disco, Argentine tango, Bollywood, pas de deux and Russian folk dance. This is the second time the Bollywood dance and pas de deux are making an appearance in this TV reality dance competition.

These two dances were introduced during Season 4 of SYTYCD in 2008 and were one of the most memorable dances of that season. The Russian folk dance was showcased for the first time in this season of SYTYCD. Surprisingly,the American swing dances, mambo and the krump which were shown in previous seasons and which were highly entertaining were not shown this time around. Season 6 of SYTYCD will premiere on September 16 2009.

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> "Jai Ho" To The Finalists Of So You Think You Can Dance America Season 5

"Jai Ho" To The Finalists Of So You Think You Can Dance America Season 5

The first performance show - the "Top 20" episode of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) America Season 5 was aired over Fox TV on June 10. The top 20 finalists - 10 guys and 10 girls were chosen from thousands of hopefuls from auditions held in 6 cities, namely; New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Denver, Memphis and Seattle. The winner of this competition will take home a cash prize of US$250,000 and the title of "America's Favourite Dancer". Cat Deeley returns as the host for this season. The panel of judges will comprise of Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy plus a guest judge during each episode. Well known choreographer and director Adam Shankman was the guest judge in this episode. The 20 finalists who had been paired into 10 couples, performed the following dances:-


1 Philip Chbeeb & Jeanine Mason - Hip Hop

2 Vitolio Jeune & Asuka Kondoh - Broadway

3 Jonathan Platero & Karla Garcia - Cha Cha Cha

4 Evan Kasprzak & Randi Evans - Jazz

5 Tony Bellissimo & Paris Torres - Hip Hop

6 Jason Glover & Caitlin Kinney - Bollywood

7 Brandon Bryant & Janette Nanrara - Broadway

8 Kupono Aweau & Ashley Valerio - Jazz

9 Ade Obayoni & Melissa Sandvig - Contemporary

10 Max Kapitannikov & Kayla Radomski - Samba


Couple number 6, Jason Glover & Caitlin Kinney performed a Bollywood dance routine to Jai Ho, the theme song from the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire". The couple performed a physically demanding routine which won praises from the judges. Adam Shankman couldn't hide his excitement and shouted "You guys rocked!" He was also impressed with Jason's dance artistry and called him "a little force of nature in this competition". Mary Murphy commended Caitlin on her strength in doing the headstand. The Bollywood dance routine was introduced during Season 4 of SYTYCD and was one of the most memorable dances of the season. America seems to be falling in love with Bollywood. Jai Ho (may victory be yours) to the finalists of So You Think You Can Dance!

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Cuban Rumba And Latin American Rumba - Dances Of Love And Seduction!

The second season of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), USA which is presently being shown here on TV8 every Sundays at 11.15 pm introduced audiences to many different styles of dances. During the "Top 18" show which was telecast on January 4 2009, audiences got to watch the krump and the American jive. The krump is a relatively new urban street dance form born (circa 2001) in the streets of South Central Los Angeles, USA and is a fusion of several dance styles including, hip hop, breakdancing and clowning. The American jive is similar yet slightly dissimilar from the Latin jive which most of us are more familiar with.

At the "Top 16" show of SYTYCD which was aired on January 18 2009, a group of six dancers called "Step, Hop and A Jump" performed an American swing dance, the lindy hop before the competition began. It was entertaining and fun to watch. During this episode, audiences also got to watch one pair of competitors dance the Cuban rumba, which is totally different from the Latin American rumba which we are so used to watching or dancing. The Latin American rumba is a slow, sensuous and romantic dance characterized by the the use of strong hip actions. The Cuban rumba on the other hand is a fast-paced, energetic dance with little emphasis on hip actions.

The Cuban rumba was performed by couple number 2, Ryan Rankine and Heidi Groskreutz (pic). Heidi, a trained Latin American dancer who thought she had it easy was surprised to learn that the Cuban rumba is so different from what she had expected. Alex Da Silva who choreographed the routine said that the feature of the dance is of a man trying to seduce a woman, and of the woman resisting his advances. The dance is often considered risque, even vulgar at times. Ryan and Heidi however put on a splendid performance which won praises and applause from the judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Olisa Thompson and Cicely Bradley.

The Cuban rumba is believed to have derived directly from the dancing of African slaves from around the West Indies and the Caribbean during the late 19th century. The dance moves require a high degree of athleticism and frequently includes acrobatic moves like handstands, flips and cartwheels usually performed by the man. The refined and elegant Latin American rumba or sometimes known also as the ballroom rumba is a variation of the Cuban rumba. It has a much slower tempo and is meant to feature the female teasing and seducing her partner culminating in the two becoming as one. If dance be the food of love, carry on!

Good Luck,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia

The Krump - A New Dance Style Set To Rock The World?

Those who watched the second round (Top 18) of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) America - Season 2 on 8TV on January 4 2009 would have noticed contestants Travis Wall and Martha Nichols doing a krump dance routine to the song Clap Back by Ja Rule. The routine was choreographed by Lil' C, a world renowned krumper. I guess for many of us (it certainly was for me) this would be the first time that we are watching a krump dance performance. The dance was entertaining, fun to watch and Travis and Martha really gave a polished performance. It was thumbs up from all the judges.

Krumping is a relatively new urban street dance form that was born circa 2001 in the streets of South Central Los Angeles, USA. It is a fusion of several dance styles popular in the LA area. In addition to hip hop and breakdancing moves, krumping also involves another unique LA style of dancing known as clowning, pioneered by Tommy The Clown. The popularity of krumping has spread to places like Europe, Brazil, Australia and Japan. A krump dance competition was held recently in Japan with the first prize being an offer to battle against Lil' C and Miss Prissy in the USA.

Through the annals of history, we find that new genres of dances have always been continually "invented". While some dances have remained popular in their present or variation forms, many have faded into oblivion and are quickly forgotten. Dances which have challenged and will stand the test of time are the folk, contemporary and national dances. Many fad dances just come and go like the wind and are soon consigned to the history books. Dances like the locomotion, mashed potato, the jerk, the fly, the monkey (and a whole list with ridiculous names) which were the craze in the 1960s are all but barely mentioned nowadays.

The social dances which have remained popular in Malaysia include the ballroom and Latin American dances. Other "newer" entrants are the hip hop, salsa and line dance. There has been a resurgence of interest in other styles like the American swing dances (lindy hop, east coast swing, west coast swing, etc), Argentine tango and belly dance. You can still get to dance the twist, off-beat cha cha, YMCA, disco, and macarena at some social functions. Will the krump retain its allure or will it just become another dance fad and slowly fade away. Only time can tell. In the meantime, happy krumping!

Warmest Regards,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia

Benji Schwimmer Wins "So You Think You Can Dance Season 2" Competition

The second season of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) premiered in the United States on May 12 2006 with a new host Cat Deely replacing Lauren Sanchez of Season 1. Auditions for season 2 were held in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Charleston. One hundred and sixteen contestants were selected for a week of training at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The group were shortlisted down to 41 from which 20 were chosen for the Top 20. The Top 20 were:-

Guys - Benji Schwimmer, Travis Wall, Ivan Koumaev, Ryan Rankine, Dmitry Chaplin, Musa Cooper, Jaymz Tuaileva, Ben Susak, Jason Williams, Stanislav Savich

Girls - Donyelle Jones, Heidi Groskreutz, Natalie Fotopoulos, Allison Holker, Martha Nicols, Ashlee Nino, Jessica Fernandez, Aleksandra Wojda, Joy Spears, Erin Ellis

A very good and varied style of dances were performed in So You Think You Can Dance USA Season 2. All the Ballroom and Latin American dances were showcased. American Swing dances: the Lindy Hop and West Coast Swing were introduced this season. The other genres of dance performed included Hip Hop, Contemporary, Jazz, Broadway, Salsa and Disco. All in all, it was a fantastic mix of the various styles of dance and the dancers were entertaining and a delight to watch.

After a series of elimination rounds, the Top 4 were chosen for the Grand Finals which was aired on August 16 2006. The Top 4 were Benji Schwimmer, Travis Wall, Donyelle Jones and Heidi Groskreutz. The eventual winner of SYTYCD USA Season 2 was Benji Schwimmer who received a cash prize of US$100,000, a new hybrid SUV and a one year contract with Celine Dion's Las Vegas Show "A New Day..." Benji once worked as a missionary in Mexico and was a former US Swing dance champion. He and his cousin Heidi Groskreutz were the winners in the Showcase Division of the 2005 US Swing Dance Open Championships.

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Wade Robson Conducts Dance Workshop In Malaysia

Wade Robson, the celebrated dance choreographer of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) USA was in Malaysia last month to conduct a workshop for 80 privileged dancers who had the rare opportunity to train under a world renowned performer. The 25 year old Australian-born, 2-times Emmy Award winner who choreographed Britney Spear's 1999 World Tour at the young age of 16, conducted the exclusive two-day workshop on October 18 and 19 at Celebrity Fitness Studio in 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya.

Among the participants at the meet were previous contestants from the SYTYCD Malaysia Seasons 1 and 2 - Alam (champion season 1), Cecilia Yong (champion season 2), Dennis Yin, Jorida Lim, Vivian Chan, Farah Hanan and SYTYCD Malaysia choreographer Boojay of Floor Fever. At the workshop, Wade demonstrated dance routines taken from his latest work in the Cirque Du Soleil/Criss Angel Believe stage show. Wade also obligingly danced his own Sexyback routine choreographed to Timberlake's song together with the Floor Fever dance crew.

Wade Jeremy Williams Robson was born on September 17 1982 in Brisbane, Australia. He began performing as a professional dancer at the tender age of 5 and was a back-up dancer for Michael Jackson during Michael Jackson's Bad Tour of Australia in 1987. Wade and his family moved to the United States when he was nine years old to pursue his career in the entertainment industry. Before he turned 10, Wade had danced and acted in Michael Jackson's music videos (Black Or White, Jam, and Heal The World), numerous commercials, films and TV shows.

In 2007, Wade won an Emmy for a routine called Ramalama which he choreographed for SYTYCD. In the same year he choreographed and danced in a special performance of Dancing With The Stars which turned out to be one of the season's highest rated episodes. Wade will also be choreographing and producing Britney Spear's World Tour 2009 which is slated to begin in March next year. "The tour will be nothing like you've ever seen from Britney in the past seven years. It will be pretty crazy, wild, different, kind of sexy and elegant" Wade enthused.

Warmest Regards,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia