I'm just wondering what people thought of Benji Schwimmer's Lindy Hop choreography for So You Think You Can Dance Canada:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4bBBZMOWMs
Thoughts?
Page(s):
12
...
Next >(47 items total, 30 per page)
What, in the name of Cthulu, was that song doing in a lindy hop routine?
(Edited to add that I liked the girl enough to watch the audition video linked in the sidebar. And boy, she's good. But this is about Benji's choreography...)
I'm not sure where the "Lindy Hop" was. I saw a couple of swingout like figures but for the most part, I'd say it's some sort of modern/contemporary dancing with some partnered lifts and tricks. Overall, poorly executed partner stuff.
The music didn't swing, the dance didn't swing, it ain't Lindy Hop.
They hired one of the best lindy hoppers in the world to choreograph for SYTYCD-US, twice.
They hired an extremely talented dancer, but a non-lindy hopper, to choreograph for SYTYCD-CAN, because Benji is famous and it's worth ratings, I guess.
On top of that, Lacey and Neil got a Bill Elliott song. Donyelle and Dmitry got Sing, Sing, Sing. These poor Canadian kids got a friggin' My Chemical Romance song.
So in terms of it being lindy, the Canadian show was worse in both choreographer and music.
So the second judge criticized them for "being all smiles." What's up with that? According to Frankie Manning, lindy is a happy dance! Who in their right mind would set lindy in a warzone?
The two swingouts near the end seemed like an afterthought on the part of the choreographer, just an excuse to slap the lindy label on this mockery.
The music was definitely not happy. I doubt the music was imposed after the choreography, so Dan's assessment that they were smiling too much is reasonable. I disagree with him when he says it was good dancing otherwise.
Choosing Benji for Lindy Hop makes as much sense as hiring Mary Murphy to choreograph a Country Two Step routine.
they should have gotten a lindy hopper to do Lindy Hop not Benji doing benji [bleep!]hop!!!!
BULL[bleep!]!!!!!!
you cant compare it to the Dancing with the Stars dance because they at least had the since to go out and get dancers that actually do the dance. all they had was a change in the music. they were still doing the dance they love and having a great time doing it.
in this Canadian travesty, they had a guy that doesn't know do the dance ,and clearly does not understand it, to choreograph this pile of, Benji the, dog, [bleep!]! and you really cannot blame the dancers they were doing what they needed to with what they had, which was a huge piece of producer [bleep!]sucking [bleep!] head orgy of whoring out your own soul! but the dancers looked sloppy, but i don't blame them since they had a choreographer that clear didn't know what he was doing.
but really yall lindy hop can be done by people that never done it before. ive seen it. and of course it comes down to us from those damn Vikings!
on the Scandinavian version of SYTYCD, they grabbed the lindy hero, Dave Dalmo to teach and create an amazing piece of lindy that was executed perfectly!!!
i tried to find it on youtube but its gone! if some one has it or knows where to get it please post it to show us that it takes a Viking to do a true American dance! HA!
50 classic Lindy aerials executed completely unlike a Lindy Hopper would and with no Lindy context
30 Modern dance (I think it was supposed to be breakaway solo jazz...but it wasn't)
20 Thriller
=================
100 Blech
I just sent a note today to the producers of SYTYCD Canada outlining what I've written below (of course in a more diplomatic way).
WOW, I am so disappointed with SYTYCD Canada. First of all, let me
explain where I'm coming from. My goal as a teacher/dancer in the
community is to share my love and passion of Lindy Hop, and to educate
people into what the dance was back when it started. In fact, that is
the very reason that Ann and I went on the show in the first place.
So with that in mind, here are my 2 cents (keep in mind that the
opinions below are strictly my own, although I'm sure there are people
who share my opinion):
1) In general, what you see in the video is NOT Lindy Hop. Yes they
may be actually doing some Lindy Hop patterns (Swing-Outs, Lindy Hop
Aerials, etc...); however, there is so much in the routine that is so
far off the Lindy Hop map, I cannot bring myself to saying that what
they did was the dance I love so much.
2) Benji Schwimmer chorographed the routine?!? Whaaaaaaaaat? Look...
I'm not criticizing Benji for his dancing. He is amazing at what he
does. However, he is not a Lindy Hopper, he's a West Coast dancer. And
although both dances fall under the Swing umbrella, they are both very
different dances. Why didn't they hire local Canadian talent to
choreograph the Lindy Hop routine? There are tons of people who could
have done that: Dan Amores, Max Pitruzella, Zack Richard, Benjamin
Ricard, Alain Wong, etc, etc, etc... I really appreciate that Nick
Williams was hired as a choreographer for the American version of
SYTYCD, and I understand that he really pushed for Lindy Hop to be
Lindy Hop (if you know what I mean).
3) The music: I know there is a lot of debate floating around about
what you can and cannot dance Lindy Hop to. My opinion, you can dance
Lindy Hop to whatever music you like, but in general Lindy Hop works
really best with Classic Jazz or Big Band music... it just makes sense
to me that we dance the Lindy Hop to the music from the same era that
the dance was invented in. And, if you want to dance Lindy Hop to
other kinds of music... well, that's one of the reasons why West Coast
exists today.
All-in-all, I'm really disappointed with this routine. Other SYTYCD
counterparts in other countries have been true to the essence of the
Lindy Hop. I understand that this is a TV show and in the end it all
comes down to ratings, but from a dancing perspective I think they are
relegating the history of a style by not staying true to the dance's
form. It contributes to people's mis-education of this incredible
dance and can ultimately contribute to the disappearance of it.
Quoted from "TinyMich" What, in the name of Cthulu, was that song doing in a lindy hop routine?
No idea. I haven't even watched the clip yet. I just wanted to post my love for you, for ref'ing Cthulhu. (I can't even poke at your spelling, as it's a common variant.)
I don't know where they got rock and roll from, but that routine bears even less resemblance to rock and roll (which I danced for about a year prior to finding lindy hop) than it does to lindy hop.
Maybe what you yankees call rock and roll isn't what rock and roll is down under though.
Lindy Hop on SYTYD Canada
AlainW
Hi there,
I'm just wondering what people thought of Benji Schwimmer's Lindy Hop choreography for So You Think You Can Dance Canada:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4bBBZMOWMs
Thoughts?
Page(s): 1 2 ... Next > (47 items total, 30 per page)
TinyMich
What, in the name of Cthulu, was that song doing in a lindy hop routine?
(Edited to add that I liked the girl enough to watch the audition video linked in the sidebar. And boy, she's good. But this is about Benji's choreography...)
jester
it needed more lindy hop
Toon Town Dave
I'm not sure where the "Lindy Hop" was. I saw a couple of swingout like figures but for the most part, I'd say it's some sort of modern/contemporary dancing with some partnered lifts and tricks. Overall, poorly executed partner stuff.
The music didn't swing, the dance didn't swing, it ain't Lindy Hop.
AlainW
I'd also love to hear your opinions/comments on their choice of choreographer for Lindy Hop.
In the US edition, Nick Williams was hired for the choreographies. And in Canada, we got Benji.
This reminds me of the Dancing with the Stars thread where Laura Keat explained the compromises that come with dealing with TV producers.
hoya01
They hired one of the best lindy hoppers in the world to choreograph for SYTYCD-US, twice.
They hired an extremely talented dancer, but a non-lindy hopper, to choreograph for SYTYCD-CAN, because Benji is famous and it's worth ratings, I guess.
On top of that, Lacey and Neil got a Bill Elliott song. Donyelle and Dmitry got Sing, Sing, Sing. These poor Canadian kids got a friggin' My Chemical Romance song.
So in terms of it being lindy, the Canadian show was worse in both choreographer and music.
Swingville
So the second judge criticized them for "being all smiles." What's up with that? According to Frankie Manning, lindy is a happy dance! Who in their right mind would set lindy in a warzone?
The two swingouts near the end seemed like an afterthought on the part of the choreographer, just an excuse to slap the lindy label on this mockery.
Toon Town Dave
The music was definitely not happy. I doubt the music was imposed after the choreography, so Dan's assessment that they were smiling too much is reasonable. I disagree with him when he says it was good dancing otherwise.
Choosing Benji for Lindy Hop makes as much sense as hiring Mary Murphy to choreograph a Country Two Step routine.
swinginstyle
that blew
Penguinbob
More evidence that those who don't dance lindy hop don't really have a clue what lindy hop is. :(
BrownOutlaw
BULL[bleep!]!!!!!!
they should have gotten a lindy hopper to do Lindy Hop not Benji doing benji [bleep!]hop!!!!
BULL[bleep!]!!!!!!
you cant compare it to the Dancing with the Stars dance because they at least had the since to go out and get dancers that actually do the dance. all they had was a change in the music. they were still doing the dance they love and having a great time doing it.
in this Canadian travesty, they had a guy that doesn't know do the dance ,and clearly does not understand it, to choreograph this pile of, Benji the, dog, [bleep!]! and you really cannot blame the dancers they were doing what they needed to with what they had, which was a huge piece of producer [bleep!]sucking [bleep!] head orgy of whoring out your own soul! but the dancers looked sloppy, but i don't blame them since they had a choreographer that clear didn't know what he was doing.
...did i say too much... well good!
-Mikey
[bleep!]SUCKER WHORED HIS SOUL!
BrownOutlaw
hehe... :roll:
Henry Hui Hui
C'mon Mikey, stop holding back. Tell us how you really feel
Speak only if you can improve the silence. - Quaker saying (via @Rikomatic)
BrownOutlaw
but really yall lindy hop can be done by people that never done it before. ive seen it. and of course it comes down to us from those damn Vikings!
on the Scandinavian version of SYTYCD, they grabbed the lindy hero, Dave Dalmo to teach and create an amazing piece of lindy that was executed perfectly!!!
i tried to find it on youtube but its gone! if some one has it or knows where to get it please post it to show us that it takes a Viking to do a true American dance! HA!
...my soul hurts... :oops:
mity
i agree, that set the lindy appreciation about 5,000 years back. not since the Garden of Eden has the lindy hop been appreciated less.
Atalanta
And, this morning (afternoon?) I imagine your head hurts too.
We love your passion, Mikey, but maybe the Yehoodistrators won't love the language. They try to keep this at least a little bit all-ages. :)
mirifique
ew.
Zenin
Can we please rename this thread correctly:
"The Swing" on SYTYD Canada
Thanks
Emmysue4you
I couldn't even make it through one verse of that.
"...a brilliant combination of foodie, cold war, vintage and biblical. If you replace cold war with band geek." -kimpossible
pill_popper
Me neither. It was awful. The band sucked too.
you just got to listen to the music, 'cause it's talkin' to you man! -frankie
http://www.zazzle.com/anarchyforpresident
Shanabanana
Wow.
50 classic Lindy aerials executed completely unlike a Lindy Hopper would and with no Lindy context
30 Modern dance (I think it was supposed to be breakaway solo jazz...but it wasn't)
20 Thriller
=================
100 Blech
Shanabanana
And Mickey Mouse? Srsly. No wonder his choreography sucked so much.
viperfrag
I just sent a note today to the producers of SYTYCD Canada outlining what I've written below (of course in a more diplomatic way).
WOW, I am so disappointed with SYTYCD Canada. First of all, let me
explain where I'm coming from. My goal as a teacher/dancer in the
community is to share my love and passion of Lindy Hop, and to educate
people into what the dance was back when it started. In fact, that is
the very reason that Ann and I went on the show in the first place.
So with that in mind, here are my 2 cents (keep in mind that the
opinions below are strictly my own, although I'm sure there are people
who share my opinion):
1) In general, what you see in the video is NOT Lindy Hop. Yes they
may be actually doing some Lindy Hop patterns (Swing-Outs, Lindy Hop
Aerials, etc...); however, there is so much in the routine that is so
far off the Lindy Hop map, I cannot bring myself to saying that what
they did was the dance I love so much.
2) Benji Schwimmer chorographed the routine?!? Whaaaaaaaaat? Look...
I'm not criticizing Benji for his dancing. He is amazing at what he
does. However, he is not a Lindy Hopper, he's a West Coast dancer. And
although both dances fall under the Swing umbrella, they are both very
different dances. Why didn't they hire local Canadian talent to
choreograph the Lindy Hop routine? There are tons of people who could
have done that: Dan Amores, Max Pitruzella, Zack Richard, Benjamin
Ricard, Alain Wong, etc, etc, etc... I really appreciate that Nick
Williams was hired as a choreographer for the American version of
SYTYCD, and I understand that he really pushed for Lindy Hop to be
Lindy Hop (if you know what I mean).
3) The music: I know there is a lot of debate floating around about
what you can and cannot dance Lindy Hop to. My opinion, you can dance
Lindy Hop to whatever music you like, but in general Lindy Hop works
really best with Classic Jazz or Big Band music... it just makes sense
to me that we dance the Lindy Hop to the music from the same era that
the dance was invented in. And, if you want to dance Lindy Hop to
other kinds of music... well, that's one of the reasons why West Coast
exists today.
All-in-all, I'm really disappointed with this routine. Other SYTYCD
counterparts in other countries have been true to the essence of the
Lindy Hop. I understand that this is a TV show and in the end it all
comes down to ratings, but from a dancing perspective I think they are
relegating the history of a style by not staying true to the dance's
form. It contributes to people's mis-education of this incredible
dance and can ultimately contribute to the disappearance of it.
Thanks,
Alain Fragman.
mity
i think we are all in agreement that Canada is to blame for the death of Lindy Hop.
AlainW
I contacted Benji and got his side of the story.
Here's my article on Lindybloggers in response to this discussion
mity
i think the routine was badly choreographed.
here is a good example of punk and lindy hop bastard child.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYsW7vsXEX8
Shanabanana
A bastard child doing aerials in 4" heels. Hot.
Zenin
That choreography is still better with real jazz IMHO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTRtU1U44wM
Big Mike
No idea. I haven't even watched the clip yet. I just wanted to post my love for you, for ref'ing Cthulhu. (I can't even poke at your spelling, as it's a common variant.)
MB
TinyMich
facepalm Ohhh, it was a typo!!! I KNOW how to spell Cthulhu!!!! kicks self
Penguinbob
I don't know where they got rock and roll from, but that routine bears even less resemblance to rock and roll (which I danced for about a year prior to finding lindy hop) than it does to lindy hop.
Maybe what you yankees call rock and roll isn't what rock and roll is down under though.
Page(s): 1 2 ... Next > (47 items total, 30 per page)
Related Content
No related topics found.