#sytycd 15

[patricedumonde]

Interview from the Archives: A Conversation with Alex Wong from 2011

Thirteen years ago, I started a ballet blog as a wide-eyed, teenage ballet girly, who nerded out about ballet as much as I did, Superwholock. I wanted to set out on this journalistic path and interview dancers who inspired me.

As unqualified and delusional as I was, some of these dancers ACTUALLY agreed to be interviewed. In the coming days, I will be releasing these conversations from the archives... if I can find them at all.

Please read these with kindness as you will be reading a 15-year old's version of "a serious interview." Well, it was serious to me and now that I think about it; I am still, deeply, deeply, unserious.

6 January 2011 — A Conversation with Alex Wong

Patrice: What is dance for you and what makes it special?

Alex: Dance is just dance. It somehow lives in me. It feels like something I have to do and it's a great way to be able to express emotions through dance. It's so great to be able to pursue something I love and feel like I've never worked a day in my life!

P: What or who inspired you to dance?

A: I guess it must have been a combination of a few things. When I was 5, I used to choreograph little dance routines and then bring my family into a dark bedroom and ask my Dad to spotlight me with a flashlight. They saw the talent in me and started asking me if I wanted to dance. My answer was "No, dancing is only for girls".

Anyway they kept pressing it and we finally struck a deal. They said that if I would go and watch a year end dance show put on by one of the local schools and if I STILL didn't want to dance after that, then they wouldn't ask anymore. Well anyway, I went to the show, and the rest is history!

P: If you weren't a ballet dancer, what would have been your career?

A: If I wasn't a ballet dancer, I would probably have pursued more commercial dance work, would have maybe gotten more into hip hop. Or more likely I would probably be on Broadway.

P: What motivated you to join So You Think You Can Dance?

A: The sheer fact that you get to work with the most amazing choreographers in the industry and then be forced to do multiple styles in such a short period of time. It doesn't happen anywhere else!!

P: What was your reaction when you found out you were having a hip hop routine with Twitch and how did you handle it?

A: Utter and absolute disbelief, shock and confusion followed by immense pain in my head. Hahahahaha. I really thought it was Comfort. I was the last one to draw the name, and she was the only "girl" left. Yea.

(So You Think You Can Dance, the famous hip-hop routine of Alex Wong and the late Twitch who well all, greatly, miss.)

P: Are you coming back to SYTYCD? If so, what should we expect from you?

A: I don't know yet whether or not I am coming back to SYTYCD. It will depend on how I feel and whether or not my injury has healed enough for me to dance. The doctors say that it takes at least 1 year for an Achilles injury to heal. Some people get back sooner, and some people get back later.

Do you have any advice to young dancers?

Nope! Haha, just kidding. The most important thing is to approach things with a good attitude and a willingness to learn. That will get you really far. Be smart and absorb everything like a sponge. Minus the ego.

P: Since the new year just started, what's your resolution?

A: My new year's resolution is to get healed!

The following questions were sent in by my followers:

How much time did you spend to learn Single Ladies?

It took me about one night. Haha it was a joke. I learned it and then taught my friend. People had been requesting us to do it a lot and we had no idea what the steps were, so we would just make it up, then finally one night I was like "we might as well just learn it!"

(Prior to his silly TikToks, Alex was already entertaining us on youtube with these videos. Here's Alex dancing Single Ladies at the West Beach Gala)

How's your injury going?

The recovery is going well. I am doing a lot of physical therapy and it is coming a long well. I still haven't started back to dancing yet, but I think next week I am going to start with a slow ballet class and see how it goes. Achilles injuries usually take about 1 year, and I am at about 5.5 months now.

Can you still go back to Miami City Ballet?

Yes, I believe I can still go back to Miami City Ballet. I am on good terms with my director there and he called me not too long ago to see how I was doing. When you spend so many dancing years at a place, it always feels like part of home to you

(Alex Wong circa 2010, rehearsing Bournonville's Flower Festival in Genzano, as a soloist with the Miami City Ballet)

Are you naturally a funny guy?

Um, I don't know? I love to joke a lot, it's what keeps me alive!

Evidently, he is a silly goose as Alex has gone on to be a major TikTok celebrity. Since 2011, Alex has been in movies, television shows, and live concerts such as The Greatest Showman, Fosse/Verdon, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Schmigadoon. He has even shared the stage with The Taylor Swift. Alex is still very active on Tiktok with his 2.7 million followers. BUT, in 2011, he once entertained a girl with her (as you can tell) absolutely, burning questions. Thank you, Alex!

[mimzalot]

honestly all of them but 5, 15, 20 to keep it short

5 - A song that needs to be played LOUD

the mad scramble to turn up the music before that first 'BASS DROP!' is a primal instinct to me. which is funny because rapidly turning the volume down at 'engine engine' before the string of f-bombs that follow is ALSO a mad scramble

15 - A song that is a cover by another artist

the first few notes of this song? class. realising that he's rearranged a beloved classic? CLASS! and a saxophone solo to top it off?! these really are my favourite things.

+ Still The One by Josh Tatofi + Blue Bayou by Linda Ronstadt + Don't Dream It's Over by Nyssa Collins

20 - A song that has many meanings to you

the multiple meanings in this case refer to how this song has timelessly attached itself to a number of projects, from DASH! to Metanoia Blues. also a dance routine on SYTYCD Australia.

[questions from this post]

[osoba99publiczna]

'Ellen' DJ Stephen 'tWitch' Boss Dead at 40 by Suicide

Stephen "tWitch" Boss, the famed DJ on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, is dead … and TMZ has learned it appears to be a suicide. Law enforcement sources tell us Stephen's wife Allison Holker ran into an LAPD station Tuesday, and she was frantic because she said Stephen had left home without his car -- something that was not like him at all. We're told, a short time later -- around 11:15 AM -- paramedics got a call for a medical emergency at an L.A. hotel … and they found Stephen there, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Holker tells TMZ, "Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him." She continues, "He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans. To say he left a legacy would be an understatement, and his positive impact will continue to be felt. I am certain there won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t honor his memory." https://youtu.be/GTJ_GRPGPwI Concluding, "Stephen, we love you, we miss you, and I will always save the last dance for you." Stephen started DJing on Ellen's show in 2014, and was with her until the show ended in May 2022. He had become an executive producer on the show in 2020. The last time our photogs got him out around L.A. was back in September, and he talked to us about life after 'Ellen' … sounding pretty happy to have more time with his family. Stephen hosted several reality shows … most notably, he and Allison hosted "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings" together on Disney+.

The couple met on the all-star season of 'SYTYCD" -- they were both competing -- and they got married in 2013. Allison and Stephen had just celebrated their 9-year anniversary this past Saturday. They had 3 kids. Stephen was 40 years old. RIP Stay informed and stay connected with us for the latest headlines Read the full article

[nellie-v-glee]

Do you have a favourite memory as this season winds down?

Honestly meeting my partner, meeting Genessy… definitely up there because she makes me better as a person and as a dancer, but you know meeting such an incredible person like Genessy... it was one of the highlights for sure.

(x)

[vampirecorleone]

“G E T I T!”

[dwtspd]

SYTYCD 15 Finale recap

This season has been REALLY fast.

Loved that opening number. Felt more like an event performance than a dance one, but I like how it showed us all the original couples, each dancer in their styles, and made use of the stage and balconies.

Vanessa’s choice - Jensen and JayJay’s Tahitian dance I can see why Vanessa would be inclined to dances like this.

Genessy’s choice - contemporary with Lex Watching this dance a second time...still don’t really feel it. I can relate to how Genessy feels the need to validate her choice to pursue dance.

Mary’s choice - Hannahlei and Cole’s ballroom Another pick I’m not surprised by. Damn, Cole’s presence in this dance was amazing, considering you couldn’t see his face.

Slavik’s choice - his first hip hop (the heist) with Genessy a good choice! Lots of fun, plus this showed me Genessy was not here to play.

Nigel’s choice - Nigel was disappointed Evan went home so early (same Nigel same). So he ordered a custom tap routine from Anthony Morigerato to feature Evan and Lex doing tap. Holy moly, they were so tight in this. Love love love it.

Jensen’s choice - hip hop with JayJay wasn’t what I expected but I can see why anyone would enjoy performing this number. They cooked Mandy’s Emmy LOL.

Mandy Moore feature - Academy final group dance If there’s one thing Mandy does well, I’ll give it to her, it’s group numbers.

Twitch’s choice - Magda and Darius’ jazz Huh, I’d honestly forgotten about this dance, and wasn’t expecting this.

Hannahlei’s choice - contemporary with Marko Oh yes, this is a good one. Beautiful.

Twitch’s choice #2 - Genessy and Slavik’s housework hip hop How’s Slavik holding up having to redo so many dance tonight? Remembering all that choreo... He’s been one of my faves this season though so I ain’t mad to see this.

Remixed group number 1 - Top 3 girls + Magda and Chelsea This dance is still kinda weird to me but the black and white costumes add some punch to it

Now United performance Are they really all from those different nations? Can’t say I’ve heard of this group before, but they have a nice sound. I spent a good part of this number wondering if their numbers had anything to do with World Cup placements.

Vanessa’s choice #2 - Hannahlei and Jensen’s heels I think this dance would be one of the fan favourites this season. Side note, have you seen all of Brian’s new videos from his teachings around various studios? Pretty cool stuff, with some SYTYCD alums and past auditionees too.

Remixed group number 2 - Top 4 guys + Twitch and a slight dose of Nigel yeah boy Twitch has still got it! And Nigel came in for the “old man walk”.

TWITCH’S AUDITION. That baggy shirt lol.

Mary’s choice #2 - Magda and Darius’ contemporary It says a lot about Travis Wall that I forgot he made this dance after the whole season happened.

Nigel’s choice #2 - JayJay and Lauren’s jazz Again, this dance is fun but it doesn’t fill the song for me. Nigel confirmed that it will be on tour and I can see why. It’ll be a crowd pleaser for sure.

Results time...4th place is...Slavik.

I’m right so far. And they have participation trophies for the finalists now.

Luther Brown feature - Top 10 group routine Man I’d forgotten about this too.

Nigel’s choice #3 - Darius and Taylor’s contemporary was there any doubt that this routine would have an encore? I’ll be surprised if Travis doesn’t win something for this.

More results...3rd place is...Genessy

I’m am so on this. Genessy has been so inspiring to watch. I admit I didn’t pay much attention to her at first both from lack of air time through academy and just more interest in other contestants, but she stole my attention.

Also, I didn’t notice this when they first performed it but in Genessy and Slavik’s first hip hop there’s a moment where he pulls her to him and she’s shaking her head or something...that right there that’s cute.

and the winner is...HANNAHLEI!!!!!!

Dang I got it RIGHT. I think that’s a first for me.

I’ll see you all next season!

[teamkoine]

hannahlei cabanilla deserves more screen time

fuck production

[filmnoirsbian]

I know i say "i think about this constantly" a lot but im really not exaggerating when i say i think about the so you think you can dance group victorian zombie routine to ramalama bang bang by roisin murphy constantly

[osoba99publiczna]

'Ellen' DJ Stephen 'tWitch' Boss Dead at 40 by Suicide

Stephen "tWitch" Boss, the famed DJ on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, is dead … and TMZ has learned it appears to be a suicide. Law enforcement sources tell us Stephen's wife Allison Holker ran into an LAPD station Tuesday, and she was frantic because she said Stephen had left home without his car -- something that was not like him at all. We're told, a short time later -- around 11:15 AM -- paramedics got a call for a medical emergency at an L.A. hotel … and they found Stephen there, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Holker tells TMZ, "Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him." She continues, "He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans. To say he left a legacy would be an understatement, and his positive impact will continue to be felt. I am certain there won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t honor his memory." https://youtu.be/GTJ_GRPGPwI Concluding, "Stephen, we love you, we miss you, and I will always save the last dance for you." Stephen started DJing on Ellen's show in 2014, and was with her until the show ended in May 2022. He had become an executive producer on the show in 2020. The last time our photogs got him out around L.A. was back in September, and he talked to us about life after 'Ellen' … sounding pretty happy to have more time with his family. Stephen hosted several reality shows … most notably, he and Allison hosted "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings" together on Disney+.

The couple met on the all-star season of 'SYTYCD" -- they were both competing -- and they got married in 2013. Allison and Stephen had just celebrated their 9-year anniversary this past Saturday. They had 3 kids. Stephen was 40 years old. RIP Stay informed and stay connected with us for the latest headlines Read the full article

[nellie-v-glee]

‘I was so scared. I was just as scared standing there as I was down there looking at her and i’m just like... if she goes home and I don’t have her as my partner. This would not work out like that... it would not work this well.’

[vampirecorleone]

Slavic & Genessy - House Work.

[sytycd-14]

Amazing news to start off the new year!!

[dwtspd]

SYTYCD S15 Top 8 recap

Cool opening number! Poor Slavik got left behind. I wonder if he wasn’t in the group part because of his lower contemporary ability?

Vanessa finally looks normal for once.

ROUND 1

Jensen and Jay Jay - Jazz Pretty nice routine. It felt sexy but not overlay sensual. I thought Jensen was given more to do with the choreo, but she was less controlled than Jay Jay. It was his style, though. I noticed he literally does not stop pointing his feet. Even when they are on the floor, they are pointed all the way to his toes. That attention to detail serves him well as a dancer.

Cole does a nice Jailhouse Rock jive solo with an amazing jump thrown in at the end there. He also tried his best to have Elvis hair. His locks aren’t quite thick enough, but he looks good enough for me.

Genessy and Slavik - Contemporary Listen, I love these two. They are cute and get along very well. But I don’t want the show trying to push the showmance at angle. LET THEM BE. I couldn’t decide if they were reading from cue cards during the rehearsal video or not. Anyway, this was a really refreshing contemporary dance. No angsty flailing. I feel like Genessy was mostly dancing around Slavik, but the dude put in a pretty good effort. I think Mandy specifically gave him that arabesque as a chance to say ‘hey, I can have nice lines too’. He didn’t always point his toes, though.

Hannahlei throws a whole ton of technique into her solo. Too bad she’s using that song. Sigh.

Magda and Darius - hip hop haha, I like this concept. I think Magda looked a bit frantic but was hitting the movies harder than Darius, who knew what he was doing but had retract his long long limbs. They also went out of sync in the middle and it was pretty obvious, because there were lots of side-by-side moves there.

Jay Jays solo was kinda weird. I didn’t get what it was all about. But wow his jumps are fantastic.

I feel like Slavk might have improved his solo. Not that it hasn’t been done before. I like the thing he did with his fingers when the piano keys were being played.

Hannahlei and Cole - Broadway Travis was originally a broadway dancer?? Dude, who would have thought? Damn, Cole’s characterisation was on point. His expressions were great. Perhaps he was more impressive than Hannahlei here, since all she had to do was pretty much be herself. Vanessa, the dance wasn’t about taking clothes off. She missed the point by such a wide margin with that comment.

ROUND 2

Genesy and Slavik - Jazz This was so fun to watch! Genessy was SO INTO IT. I think she was sharper in her movements than Slavik. Oh my god Nigel DON’T PUSH THEM. That engagement thing had as much subtlety as a sledgehammer.

Magda and Darius - Contemporary Wonderful routine from Jacqi Royal. I think I saw Royal Flux rehearsing something like this. I think there might have been a part towards the end where the rope didn’t go as they wanted it too so Darius had to take a while to untangle it. The spins and slides were well done, though, and that’s probably the most memorable part of the dance. Nigel made a good point that Darius didn’t really dance here, not really his fault though.

Both Magda and Jensen had samba solos with frilly costumes and idk, but I feel like that combo just makes things look really frenetic, as fiery as both ladies are.

Jensen and Jay Jay - hip hop Don’t worry, I can’t really cook either. This dance was hilarious. I found that Jensen shone a bit more. She just felt more grounded. There were this little moments in the dance like when they wiggled their fingers at each other, those were really awesome inclusions.

Oh my god, Darius is younger than me?? That solo was out of this world.

Hannahlei and Cole - Cha cha do cha chas allow lifts? The tricks plus the sultriness of this dance made it feel like an AT with cha cha steps thrown in. Other than that, a great job from both dancers.

Nice final lyrical solo from Genessy with a pretty costume to match. Love her skirt.

ROUND 3 - group dances

Top 4 girls - contemporary I didn’t understand this number. I couldn’t connect to it either. It just seemed like a random dark contemp number that wasn’t going anywhere.

Jensen is obviously safe. Magda and Genessy are in the bottom 4. Hannahlei is safe.

Top 4 guys - hip hop I mean, this dance was fun, but why are they wearing raincoats?????? Funnily, I feel like Slavik stood out in an odd way, because they were given a more looser style of hip hop but as an animator Slavik dances more tight and controlled. At some points it seemed he had less energy than the rest of the guys as a result. Cole doing the smurf - LOL.

Jay Jay is obviously safe (I mean, it’s no secret the producers wanted the J couple to be the power couple.) Cole is in the bottom 4. Slavik is safe (!!!!!). And Darius is in the bottom 4.

Yo, seeing Cole and Darius up there without the yellow coats lookin’ so DAPPER, man why didn’t they just have that as the costume?

Bottom 4 - Cole, Darius, Magda, and Genessy. I feel like it could have gone either way for both the men and women. Ultimately, Cole and Magda are sent home. Losing 2 ballroom dancers in one night - that must be hard for Mary.

All stars will be back next week!

This week’s rankings: 1. Hannahlei and Cole 2. Genessy and Slavik 3. Magda and Darius 4. Jensen and Jay Jay

[teamkoine]

and like the format for this year?? i was fine with a top 20 because at least they’d get to dance with one another but the fact that it’s top 10?? if they wanted a top 10, they should’ve just gone with the same format as last year and let the ALL STARS pick, this season’s a mess. i feel bad for the dancers ngl

[jorgsmelle]

I think what’s really beautiful about Genessy is that it seemed from the other side of the tv that she put so much of her energy into her partnership and supporting Slavik, but the true redemption of the her season is that by the end the whole thing became about her. And now she’s this free independent beautiful spirit and who doesn’t love to see that.