h Sophisticated Hobo sc
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Sophisticated Hobo Moves to Chicago?
*For those of you who work with me, this does not extend into the department. Thanks.*





Should I stay or should I go?


Currently I work a position that is semi-upper echelon in my Corporation. I have just been offered a position in Chicago pretty much doing what I am doing now, but on a higher Corporate Executive level, and working closely with our biggest client (as in, I'm in THEIR Corporate Headquarters).

The Situation:

The move would have to happen BY October, to comply with our client's demands.

Pros:
Pay Raise $$$
Promotions galore
Living on my own
Amazing opportunities - new adventures.
They're willing to accomodate for dance competitions (i.e. they don't have a problem with me being gone 1-2x a month on Fridays, etc.) and to finance the move.

Cons:
Leaving CA, sunny weather, the ocean behind. Chicago = SNOW.
Leaving my entire family.
Leaving my friends!!!
Going further from dance hubs - I would have to travel to more events via plane rather than just drive. From what I've researched, the dance community in Chicago is lacking...
I'd have to start paying rent (yes, I live rent-free right now).

The Toss-Up:
I must choose A (Make the move) or B:

Stay here but spend 3-4 weeks out in IL during the upcoming 2 months training someone to do the job for the client out there and then come back here and continue what I'm doing (no pay raise - for now, etc) and keep on truckin'... Oh, and cross my fingers and toes praying that the person we put out in IL doesn't screw up.

If money were the only factor, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat..... but how important would the money be if I were unhappy? There will always be opportunities in this Corporation to move up and out, but at the same time... this is a damn good opportunity...

Thoughts? Has anyone been to Chicago to visit/dance?

OH... and did I mention that I only have until Friday morning to present my decision?

 
posted by isadanceaholic at Wednesday, August 30, 2006 | Permalink | 12 comments
Friday, August 18, 2006
Hail to the King, Baby...
... the King of SYTYCD, of course! Congratulations, Benji!

Being the pathetic overworked-yet-underpaid minion of my corporation, I was at work this morning and far away from any television sets so I couldn't watch Benji's Regis and Kelly interview. Fear not!

Thanks to the fantazzzmic advances of modern technology and related internet know-how of my favorite Fangirl ever, I obtained a video of Benji's Regis interview, as WELL as a rockin' AWESOME clip of his guest appearance on Fox And Friends in NYC this morning as a Guest Weatherman (PRICELESS)!

Thank you, Vixen! **PS.. if anyone wants to see video clips from the final show, go to her site. They're alllll there.**

Without further ado!

Benji on Live with Regis and Kelly in NYC Friday morning:


Just so you know, the following clip is without question my favorite EVER. It's so nutty... so OUT THERE... crazy! Energy! Spontaneous! RANDOM.

.... you get the picture...

Benji as the "Boneless Chicken" on Fox and Friends Friday morning:


Hmm... something tells me the WCS world is never going to be the same....
 
posted by isadanceaholic at Friday, August 18, 2006 | Permalink | 0 comments
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The Tranji and Heidelle Interview

Entertainment Weekly's Interview with the Final Four - In its entirety, complete with an illustration courtesy of Vixen:



ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How does it feel to have Footloose'd your way to this Thursday's finale? Do you now know you can dance, instead of just thinking it?

BENJI SCHWIMMER, 22: Yes, I feel validated — the question was answered! I was obsessed with this show last season; I would memorize season 1 finalists Nick and Blake's routines at 3 in the morning. I was pretty good, but it never occurred to me that I could actually get on the show and get to the end.

DONYELLE JONES, 26: Yeah, I guess I do know now. It's been bittersweet. I have gotten the most amazing exposure and instruction as a dancer. The bitter part is that we never stop. We rarely have a day off, and I'm exhausted. You don't realize how strong you are and what you are capable of until it's questioned.




Benji replaces Ben Stiller as Derek in Zoolander 2?
Hey, it could happen! And after viewing the group dance
to "Sexy Back" last night, I have to agree.


HEIDI GROSKREUTZ, 24: It has been a roller-coaster ride, and that is actually what is so great about it. You have to experience extreme lows to get the extreme highs. The more blood, sweat, and tears you go through to get a good performance, the more you enjoy it. And I get to experience this with my cousin Benji.

TRAVIS WALL, 18: It feels amazing. I was originally cut in L.A. and re-auditioned in South Carolina. They haven't really publicized that. I didn't need to win, but I wanted to go from the beginning to the end and see the whole process; I wanted to get in to prove that first impressions don't always mean something. You can be the best dancer in the room and still get cut. All dancers should know that. Too many people get discouraged by the audition process and give up on dreams. They need to know that I was cut, and now I'm at the end.


How are you holding up physically?

DONYELLE: I have never felt pain like I have felt on this show. It is dancer boot camp. I take a hot bath at night and get up an hour early every morning to take another, to get my muscles loose so I can just move around. And my toe is really screwed up. That's why I looked like I was going to cry last week. I did a jump and my toe did something weird. Normally I would have stopped dancing and went, ''Ow!'' But I couldn't stop in the middle of the solo. Every time I put weight on it I wanted to cry.

HEIDI: I have been a lot luckier than others. My injuries are so minor compared to theirs. My knees are pretty worn out and they bother me a lot. And you can play connect-the-bruises on my body, and I don't know how I got most of them. I am also the girl that everyone wants to lift and turn; which is great, but at the same time it seems to trigger my migraines, because something in my neck is wrong. But I think most of our injuries will subside once we have time to sleep and eat properly and give our muscles a rest.

TRAVIS: I have a really bad back, to the point that last Sunday I woke up and couldn't walk. A chiropractor came in and readjusted me, and he told me I was going to shrink a couple of inches in a year because my back is contracting. I will be okay. It means physical therapy. You just have to push through.

BENJI: My problems are more mental. We have very little time to ourselves. We get, like, five hours a week to run errands, like going to fake-and-bake so we don't look like ghosts on the show. And elimination days were emotionally draining for me.

TRAVIS: If you ask anyone in the cast who reacted the worst to elimination Thursdays, they'll say, ''Travis.'' You can't talk to me on Thursdays. We get up at 6 a.m. and film the opening number, and then we have to wait five hours for the results. It's brutal. I think I am going home every week. Heidi gets mad at me for putting out negative energy.


Other than your style specialty, which genre have you come to appreciate the most?

HEIDI: I have grown to like contemporary dance. The movement always seemed so unnatural to me, and I just never got it. It wasn't until I was around Travis and contemporary choreographer/judge Mia Michaels that I grew to love and appreciate organic movement. I still can't do it the way it deserves to be done, but at least I have a better understanding about what it is to dance like a human instead of a dancer.

TRAVIS: Latin dances. I love doing paso doble: I love the arm tricks, the heel work, and the clothes. I always watched ballroom competitions, but I could never do it, nor did I want to learn. Now I'm going to take some classes.

BENJI: I loved doing the mambo with Heidi. I also really got into the jazz and contemporary stuff. It's the polar opposite of what I do normally. I had never danced solo in my life, so to go out and dance without a girl was also something I had to get used to. It was a weird experience.

DONYELLE: I became quite fond of Latin dances like samba and the cha-cha. I could fake them well enough that I had actual ballroom dancers come up and say, ''If you took just six months to train, you could compete.'' That's flattering.


What were the best and worst moments for each of you this season?

BENJI: Both happened at once. It was the episode when I made the show. It is called the Green Mile Episode, because you have to walk down this long stage, and there's a giant spotlight on us, and then you have to stand there while the judges pick you apart. I was such a mess that I put on two right shoes. Ballroom choreographer/judge Mary Murphy toyed with me for 15 minutes, making me believe that I wasn't going to make it on the show. Hip-hop choreographer/judge Shane Sparks and show producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe both reamed me. They didn't show half of it on TV. Then they told me I made it, and I was thrilled. I walked off the stage and realized that I was a crying mess on national TV, and that brought me back down again.

DONYELLE: The best moment for me was when we taped a show on my birthday, and I had over a hundred people in the audience for me. Normally I throw a big barbecue, but since I couldn't do that this year, they brought the party here. I couldn't look anywhere in the audience without seeing a friendly face, and that motivated me to dance even harder. I have never felt that loved. The hardest moment for me was learning the quick-step. That was the first time I felt challenged in the competition but didn't conquer it, and the first time I had negative comments from the judges. I was prepared for it, but to actually hear it, it's like, Ouch.

TRAVIS: Hearing Mia, who I look up to, say she would hire me was my best moment. I would drop everything and work with her in a heartbeat. It sucked that the week I finally got my mom here to see the show for the first time, I was in the bottom. It sucks that I only make $500 a week and I don't come from money, so I can't fly her out that often. It is just hard being the only contestant left from out of town. They fill up half the studio with their family and friends: It can be very hard on me when I see a sea of Benji, Heidi, and Donyelle signs and I get, like, one person screaming my name.

HEIDI: The best part: Essentially getting free lessons and advice from some of the world's best choreographers and dancers. A 45-minute lesson from an expert can cost upwards of $300. The worst is watching your friends and great dancers go home every week. It's like a kick in the face. We are all in this together; we understand the effort and sacrifices it takes to get here, and you know it could have just as easily been you.


Fortunately, it never was your names that host Cat Deely called out. But in the end, only one can win so if it can't be you, who are you rooting for?

HEIDI: I'm not going to win. It's between Travis and Benji. I would be so happy to see either of them win. All of us just feel like the finals is an accomplishment. This last show was so taxing and stressful that we were all like, ''We are done competing. Let's just get through this.''

TRAVIS: I think Benji will win. He has the young-girl vote. If this was a true dance contest, I think I would win, but it is a personality/likability contest as well as a dance talent contest.

BENJI: Every member of the final four deserves it. If it can't be me, I have to pick Heidi because she's my cousin, for crying out loud! She has been my dance partner for 17 years.

DONYELLE: I just came for exposure. I didn't honestly expect to be here at the end. If I win, that would be a great blessing from God, but if I don't, there is no bitterness. I'd be happy for any of the four of us to win. We've all come such a long way.


And you'll be taking what you learned on the road. Do you already know what you'll be performing on the So You Think You Can Dance tour (starting Sept. 12?)

BENJI: We won't start practicing until after the finale is over. You will be seeing all your favorite routines probably even bigger versions of them.

HEIDI: The mambo routine has been discussed as a must.

DONYELLE: Definitely not the quick-step! Laughs hysterically. I think this is a new kind of concert for people to get excited about, and I hope it gets more kids interested in dance.

TRAVIS: We are not backup-dancing for anyone. We are the stars of the show. We are hosting the show and we are performing solos, five duets, and six group routines. The bench routine will definitely be in there. The tour is the best part. We get reunited with the top 10, and we get to sell some eye candy and hopefully make dance a household name. As pop choreographer/judge Brian Friedman would say, we're going out to give fans an eyegasm.

 
posted by isadanceaholic at Thursday, August 10, 2006 | Permalink | 0 comments
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
The Travesty That is Ron Montez is Back!
The lowdown:

  • Heidi & Travis - Smooth Waltz ("Gorgeous") and Pop (Heidi is *grounded*)

  • Ivan & Natalie - Jive (Choreographed by Ron Montez - 'nuff said, now excuse me while I go vomit) and Contemporary (strike two!)

  • Benji & Donyelle - Broadway (Flappers - woohoo!) and Hip Hop (Shane Sparks AGAIN?!?! *yawn*)


Oh, and the solos are back like a heart attack.
 
posted by isadanceaholic at Tuesday, August 01, 2006 | Permalink | 1 comments
My Kind of Stripper
Unless you can remove *all* of your clothes during a continuous headspin, this guy is better than you.

 
posted by isadanceaholic at Tuesday, August 01, 2006 | Permalink | 1 comments