So You Think You Can Dance Season 8

It's summertime, so you know what that means!!!
So You Think You Can Dance is back!
I know this has relatively little to do with dancer's foot care (although we're already off to an injury-ridden season with Mitchell Kelly's shoulder problem), but it's become a summer tradition.
I didn't get to see much of last night's show, only the first six couples, but what I saw up to that point was quite good.
The breakdown on what I saw:
Jordan and Tadd: AfroJazz would have been more appropriate for Sasha to get, as she tries to incorporate African dancing with her contemporary, but it worked out. I thought Tadd held his own for being a hip-hop/break dancer. Could they have put more clothes on Jordan though? My husband commented that he supposes that's how the girl dancers get more votes- dress them scantily and the votes will pour in.
Clarice and Jess: Holy smokes the pirouette that Jess did that went down and back up again, I almost fell off my couch. It was amazing! For such a small guy, the air that he gets on his jumps is unbelievable. I really didn't believe Clarice in her character. Jess was supposed to be chasing her around and I felt it was the opposite. She smiled dance school recital too much too.
Ryan and Ricky: I love Ryan; she's perhaps my girl pick so far to win the competition. I too however was confused as to why she was smiling all the time during that lovely lyrical hip hop routine. I felt that technique wise she hit it hard, crisp, and clean. Ricky is a good dancer too, but my attention kept going more to Ryan.
Miranda and Robert: Is Robert trying to be Twitch? Wasn't Twitch's signature look the oversized, goofy glasses? Overall, it was a fun routine, and they kept the beat going. I'll be looking forward to seeing them dance other styles.
Mitchell and Caitlynn: Am I the only one who is wondering why all of Sonya's pieces need to be kind of weird and hard (not soft?)? Caitlynn was really great in this piece.

My thoughts on the bottom three (after watching the rest of the performances is:
Mitchell and Caitlynn- because Mitchell is injured, they have to be in the bottom.
Missy and Wadi- Missy was really good in the Sean Cheeseman piece, but Wadi was clearly behind and not together.
Marko and Melanie- I'm not sure that audiences are going to appreciate the beauty and control of the piece Travis choreographed for them.
Dancingly,
Jenn
jenn@centralctfootcare.com
Dr Tina Boucher, Dance Podiatrist

Ballet Dance Experts

I stumbled across this cool website called Ballet Dance Experts, http://www.balletdanceexperts.com/, while looking for information on soft-soled ballet slippers. According to the website's creator, Marissa, she wanted a site for people looking for information on ballet- not just a website selling dance supplies.

One of my favorite things about this site are the pictures that greet you when you fit log on. The first picture I saw was of a man and woman, mid-air in a leap. Their costumes are very simple, but in the man's body in particular, you see athleticism at its best. Every muscle in both of their bodies is toned, actively working, and using technique.

Marissa has articles on picking out the best unitards for dance, when to wear silver pointe/ballet shoes, and even a how-to on walking in ballet stilettos (a new one for me!). Beyond that there are also articles on picking out the best ballet classes for your preschooler, things to look for when picking out ballet barres for your studio, and something that caught my attention- adult ballet classes (because we all know I am at 25 way too old for a ballet career!).

I invite you to take a look at Ballet Dance Experts in addition to our blog, since we are just dancer footcare focused.

Dancingly,
Jenn
jenn@centralctfootcare.com
Dr. Tina Boucher, Dance Podiatrist