#dear anon who sent me that ask about beg and gain its in my drafts i promise im working on it!!!! i see you!!!

[sanstropfremir]

wait someone uploaded the co-ed fancam clips on google drive! i'm going to just write this post now, because i have insomnia :') (and i wanna upload before the youtube link for them get deleted for copyright). because not all of them were shown in this week's episode, there won't be any comments by the judges under them. overall, comments for this mission were rather short? i think its because theyre nearing their last episode and are editing it quickly. but ya i thought it would be fun to hear ur thoughts before it's all revealed:

1. lachica x jo kwon x coming out crew - lady gaga born this way: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17n_GezQH7FQhw9lyqECfvzKuI2NPpop1

judges praised them for their wardrobe choice and how it fit their routine/concept of being 'born this way'. lachica previously worked w cl for her song spicy and they contacted the costume director to make their clothes (i think it's the same outfit they wore for cl's performances? but in different colors). boa gave them 93, taeyong - 97 and sm director - 96.

2. hook x wetboy x daonez - it's raining men: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/16yBNYwl_h3e8W3-RKKqDwHdzjeyd0N40

hook shared that their goal was to make the routine happy and fun so that's why they invited a comedian (wetboy). judges really liked this routine and thought that their storytelling was v exciting. scores: boa - 95, taeyong - 95, sm director - 96.

3. coca n butter x knucks x doors x counter juice x iban - 16 shots: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17ABy570buvdH973AFpeFswSk1aOdYrji

went with an adam and eve theme. they wanted to show something different because the other crews frequently mentioned throughout the show that their choreos were always expected and boring. judges praised them for taking advantage of their physical attributes (?) and shared that their storytelling was interesting. boa shared that their overall dance routine, however, wasn't in harmony. scores: boa - 96 taeyong - 98 sm director - 98.

4. prowdmon x kyam - womanifesto (jill scott): https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17MmL8uiJIlOsZuJLUMuB5HtDO2OT5SS7

5. holybang x jay park x joony x wassup x xion x mrforce - freezy: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17-hRhzSgO1iJJLgXJpgZ6o6raLz8lEvj

6. ygx x kwon twins x clown maker x hyunse park - dance now: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/17SJjfnf7bUlMOBWD1GwOsdGA4qyaKQin

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i'm actually surprised at how high the judges' scores are? maybe because i'm tired lol but i wasn't in love w the three choreos shown in the episode. similar to when lachica did beyonce's run the world, their routine for born this way was v on-brand, expected, and done before. they did execute their concept but like, idk. it wasn't that exciting. also, im not a fan of those outfits ><. for hook, it was fun. definitely pulled off their goal of wanting to do something that made the audience smile. and for coca n butter, idk i agree w boa's comment re how their dance wasnt harmonious. i also think the song is an interesting choice for an adam and eve concept..... it didnt seem fitting? like, the song is something that coca n butter would choose but it doesnt really connect with the concept they chose.

we'll have to wait until the next ep to see what the judges say about the other 3 crews but again, i really liked prowdmon's routine. if im assuming correct, they took this mission and did a gender-swap (?), having the females dress more masculine while performing alongside a drag queen. because the 'song' choice is entirely in english, i wonder if itll translate w the korean audience? but what surprised me was how they were still able to choreograph to a spoken poem and do it well.

and not much to say w holybang and ygx. i feel like their routines were also v on-brand. and yes, the mission was literally to invite ur male dance connections and do a co-ed performance. it was very.... lackluster. esp for a semi-final mission? for me, im always excited to see prowdmon because of their creative spin and effort to show something more.

1080p resolutions and google drive links?? anon you spoil me!!! also kinda exciting to get out ahead of (half) the judging this time around!

lachica

the standout as always are jo kwon's stilettos. i agree that the concept itself isn't that interesting because like with run the world......it's a decade old at this point. well, it is to us in the western world, so i will give them the credit that jo kwon dancing in heels with a bunch of waackers to a well recognized gay anthem on a hugely popular show in a more socially conservative country is maybe more of a big deal than we think? however, i still think they could have pushed it farther, at least in terms of artistic abstraction with the costumes. think something like lia kim's lone show or even as far as the triadic ballet:

me, internally: don't start talking about the bauhaus and the ballets russes you're the only person that cares about early 20th century avant garde dance don't start talking about the bauhaus and the ballets russes don't start talking about the bauhau------

the pants were a good idea for the girls, but giving the waackers the gloves was a mistake because the movement of the gloves themselves actually obscures the movement of the arms, which is......the point of waacking. this is just another example of how there isn't a good costume designer with experience in movement working on this show, because i understand the impetus for this idea (plus they had the gloves already since that was the backup dancer costume for spicy), but it interferes with the type of movement in a very fundamental way. and nothing was helped by the projection background being mostly black, which maybe was a callback to the original mv?? but if it was the only reason why you could see what was happening is because everyone was like, mostly naked, so.

hook

i actually really like this routine, i think it's the best one that hook has done so far. it's fun and funny and cute and has a short little narrative that i think ties everything together really well. and i like that they brought in a popping crew to showcase a different style. also the projections are SO good, it took me a solid five seconds to figure out that it was not actually raining in the studio. i don't love the bicycle move, but otherwise this choreo flows a lot better and has a stronger structure than their others, which makes me wonder if that's the addition of having a collaborator.

coca n butter

what is the grip that 16 shots has on the dance scene, this is like the third thing i've seen that uses it. i do agree with the judges here also, if you hadn't said this was supposed to be based on adam and eve i would not have guessed. i don't think there's enough relevant storytelling information in the choreography to justify even saying that it has a narrative element at all, personally. also eden is a bit of a tough one because like........what are you gonna do that taemin and gain haven't done? you really wanna try to step to taemin????? i do think that by saying that it was eden themed they actually made the work make less sense, because the first time i watched it and had no idea i enjoyed it more than after i found out. there is a very interesting emphasis on the body and physicality in this that is very rooted in touch and relationship; to others in the space and to the space itself. there's a lot of floor and hand work, as well as partner/group formations that require physical support, so i understand where that judges' comment is coming from. i think they should have just stuck with having it be about physicality and ran with that more than trying to lay a narrative overtop that. it was nice to see something different from them though, even though i couldn't see them 90% of the time because they were wearing black bodysuits against a black backdrop. tldr you're right the music does not match the theme and that's why it's not harmonious.

prowdmon

i see your second ask and i'm going to elabourate more there, but i will say that choreographing contemporary to spoken word fairly common? or maybe it's just common in the circles i run in, which include a fair amount of spoken word poets and contemporary dancers. i'm also not sure if this style will read to a contemporary korean audience, but also they absolutely took the challenge as a challenge and did something left field for the show, and i like that a lot. i think the choreo is good (typical of prowdmon) and i like the concept that they went with it of purposefully having a more masc styling for the dancers and having the main performer be a drag queen, but using womanifesto in particular? i think a wrong choice.

holybang

there's nothing really wrong with this routine, it's just a typical hip hop choreo. the girls absolutely bodied the guys though they were really giving us nothing. when compared to the rest of the routines though, because it doesn't have a clear focus point or theme there's nothing really here to draw your attention, especially because they purposefully make everyone look the same. normally i don't have that much of a gripe with having a dance crew all dressed the same, but if you're going to do that you really have to make sure that your choreo and synchronicity is top fucking notch, which.....this is not. i predict that this is probably going to get the lowest score and the judges are probably going to say something along similar lines to what i've said here.

ygx

i don't actually hate this performance but something about seeing basketball jerseys on a football field 'set' is absolutely rage inducing. and i don't even like sports. if you're gonna pick a theme you gotta do proper research at least. like holybang's, this is a typical hip hop routine but unlike holybang's this has some good charm that i think would have served much better if they had gone maybe first or second, as opposed to last (i'm assuming you ordered this in performance order). i like that they used the steadicam, it showcased the charisma of the routine better than if they had just left it at the wide crane shot. do i think it's a good semifinal routine? no, but i still think it's a pretty good routine overall. it's probably going to get a middling score (which is fair) and i don't really know what the judges are going to say about it. probably something like ygx hasn't branched out from their style very much, me thinks.

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i'd say i'm also surprised at how high the scores are (i'm assuming out of 100), but also i don't know what the actual numerical scores of any of the other rounds have been so i don't have a comparison. these scores are high for routines that are i don't think are that close to perfect, but that's my personal opinion and i'm very judgemental. curious as to what the judges have to say though!