Alone and Unobserved

I have a tradition of watching Fox’s summer reality show So You Think You Can Dance and blogging breathlessly about how hot the contestants are. Unfortunately for you, my avid readers, Twitter has taken over a great deal of that role in my life (which is one reason for the sparse updates here), which means that maybe, just maybe, you aren’t aware of my SYTYCD crush, Summer 2009 Version: Evan Kasprzak.

Here’s Evan and his brother Ryan’s audition video:

Here’s a jazz routine, choreographed by Tasty Oreo:

Here’s a contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels, in which Evan is sadly fixated on his partner’s butt:

And here is the samba Evan danced last night with partner Randi.

SO HOT. Now, his samba’s not great, and in a lot of ways it’s not even good. But… somehow I don’t care.

Anyway. There you go! That’s my current crush.

Oh, and here’s the Mia Michaels routine that blew everyone’s minds on Twitter last night, and which looked like it was really going to suck in rehearsal and then turned out to be very powerful in the actual performance:

Here’s the routine were Jason danced with his shirt off the whole time (rowr):

And here’s the Wade Robson routine that closed out the night last night and made me really glad that Wade Robson is back as a choreographer on the show, and why the hell don’t they have him every week:

And oh my gosh I can’t post all the dance routines. The above videos are via Rickey.org—go watch the rest there, too. TTFN!

So You Think You Can Dance is back, as of last night, and I am all aquiver. The auditions are, if anything, crazier than those for American Idol, but are somehow also much more watchable—yes, you get the weirdos like “Gold Inferno,” but you also get sick, amazing acts like Robert Muraine’s or polished performances like Leonidas and Aliona’s. (David “Sex” Soller has never been the slightest bit watchable, of course—he invented “skeevy,” turned it into an art form and then bludgeoned us to death with it, and I really wish he would just stay home next year.)

But the REAL reason I’m so happy, the REAL reason I got so worked up over the return of the show, is that Season Two second-placer Travis Wall was on camera for a few fleeting moments. Ah, Travis, how we’ve missed ye. For old time’s sake, here is Travis and Heidi’s duet from Season Two (a routine that won choreographer Mia Michaels an Emmy).

Travis and Heidi in Calling You
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqLNCZD-7Jc&hl=en]

He showed up to teach a simple routine to the contestants, and I’m hoping (fingers crossed!) that he makes several more appearances this season in that capacity.

P.S. Cherry season has begun. Mmmmm!

[Image by Poppy Wright]

Just like all the other shows I’ve currently been ‘watching,’ episodes of So You Think You Can Dance have been languishing unviewed on my DVR for the past few weeks. Thanks to Changing Countenance for giving me the impetus to finally watch them: two BYU ballroom dancers, Kurt Myers and Dia Beck (both of whom I’ve met; neither of which I know very well) tried out for the show in Los Angeles, and wouldn’t you know it, but their audition was gut-bustingly funny. Go watch it (on good ol’ Ricky.org) and see for yourselves.

Besides watching movies, I’ve also been reading quite a bit:

The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan, AKA James Oliver Rigney, Jr. Jordan has written eleven out of a projected twelve books, but he has also come down with a debilitating and fatal disease. Let’s hope he stages a miraculous recovery.

The Goon, a comic written by Eric Powell (collected in a convenient graphic novel format for your reading pleasure!)

A Series of Unfortunate Events, an unfortunate series of children’s books by Lemony Snicket, AKA Daniel Handler. I’m on book six of thirteen right now. Pray for my soul.

I have also eaten a lot of Kraft EasyMac, watched the finale of So You Think You Can Dance, and not gotten enough sleep.

Travis, I hope you don’t feel too let down right now. You may not be America’s Favorite Dancer (which just proves that America is collectively drunk, blind, and/or stupid, a favorite proposition of mine), but you were the hottest thing in the the studio tonight, with the possible exception of the cute guy on the front row that the camera liked so much. I wonder what HIS name is . . .

Everyone can breathe easier: Travis is still on the show. I know you were all as worried as I was when he somehow landed in the bottom two, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because we got to see him cry, dance, hug people, and then cry some more, and it was wonderful. In fact, tonight’s episode focused on Travis a great deal, right from the beginning. Go to Ricky.org to see the opening number, “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago, starring Travis as the sexually ambiguous Alvin Lipschitz. Ricky also has several pictures of Travis, as well as a video of his solo. Hooray!

Carry on.