REVIEW in review: Blue October and So You Think You Can Dance (the why of hits...)

Blue October and So You Think You Can Dance
--What Makes A Hit?

Well, so much for the sunshine. Here in Seattle it's back to rain, which is depressing since its June. Oh well...there should be some sunshine in August! Something to look forward to!

What makes a hit song? Or a hit show? Or a popular, legendary painting? Or a hit dancer or dance company? Really, for that matter, what in general makes a hit regardless of the type of media/medium?

Quite honestly, no one really knows for sure. If we did, you wouldn't be seeing so many substandard songs/shows/etc all around you, being pushed by marketing departments, labels, studios and networks. You also wouldn't be seeing bad copycats of hits, or lackluster shows, music and the like being pushed because they happen to have a celebrity/famous name attached.

Still, it's not a crapshoot either. It's not a totally random process. It's quite logical if you consider logical as including emotional appeal--i.e. human psychology and culture. At its core, every hit or every celebrity appeals has an emotional appeal, touching something in the fans and supplying a deep seated need. We can identify with the emotions involved, and we care because those emotions are reflected in our own identity and needs at the time.

This doesn't mean that everyone is going to like everything. It means that for a large enough group, that hit song or hit show, or that character or celebrity (singer, actor, athlete, dancer...) touches us--representing either something that we want or representing something that we believe in. Over time, our needs will change as we have different experiences. The crush on this or that singer or actor will be outgrown and replaced with someone else. The song that you were crazy about when you were 12 may not appeal so much when you are 22 nor 62 and so on--nor should it.

It's about finding things that resonate with where you are in your life and what you need. Even within the same age, you find yourself sometimes wanting to hear soothing sounds and other times wanting more excitement. It depends on your mood at the time and your life experiences--if you're stressed, then soothing helps calm you. If you need to pump yourself up, you look for driving beats and louder music. (Some people calm or pump themselves by listening to music, others by going to art galleries, others still by watching or doing dance, or reading...you get the idea.)

So let's look at a couple of examples, and in turn, you'll see why I and other 'reviewers' (and labels, and producers, and so on) often look for these traits.

Blue October (the band) has a hit song called 'Hate Me'. What makes it special? Well, it's in a popular genre, popular because driving beats and energy generate excitement (and in their own way are relaxing as well, since you can listen to rock/alt music and 'escape' from your daily stresses and pressures.) Second, it's well done musically. The blend of musicians and producer are first rate, showing maturity and experience. The vocals are pleasing to listen to yet still emotionally evocative. In other words, the singer puts real emotion into the song, real sincerity and has a voice that stays on key and is melodious to the ear. Fans can spot insincerity a mile away. When critics, judges and the like talk about 'committing to a song, or a dance' this is what they are talking about--committing emotionally to it, physically, entirely, really being vulnerable during the song, the dance, the artwork--allowing your feelings to be shown to the world, facing the fear of rejection and ridicule that we all feel when so exposed.

Finally, the song is about love, something central to being human and the experience of life. Now, lots of songs are about love (some hits, some not) so obviously there has to be more, more than a catchy melody or angst ridden vocals. The lyrics here are about the deepest form of love, the kind that puts the one you love ahead of yourself. Here, the song is about recognizing that to be selfish and keep the lover around would destroy them. Here, the song is about wanting your lover to be happy, even if that means that you must be unhappy.

Again, lots of songs talk about that--the difference here is that 'Hate Me' turns the tables. It tells a story, like any good song, so that we understand the context (why the person singing knows that they are toxic to the happiness of the one who loves them) but it also includes a twist. Instead of being direct and saying 'I'm not good for you, therefore, since I love you, you must leave me' it says instead 'Hate me. Because I love you, I want you to hate me, even if that causes me horrible pain, because I know then that you will leave and find love with someone who is good to you.' See the difference? The twist in how the story is told takes the listener by surprise and that makes the song more interesting.

That twist in how to tell the tale, adds both humor and pathos--and interest. Combine that with a great delivery (vocals, musicality, sophistication in how the song is put together) and you have a much better chance at catching the fans attention (and the labels and the critics.) If you then add in pleasing visuals (how you appear to others), then so much the better. Face it, people like to watch good entertainers. They don't necessarily have to be beautiful but they have to have that IT quality, that charismatic quality that makes you want to watch them. Part of that is learned (how to entertain, different tricks to presentation) but part of it is internal as well (who you are inside and how well you can project that outward to an audience--your presence on stage. That's harder to learn, but it can be learned...because at its heart, it's about confidence and vulnerability. (This is different than the interest generated by 'train wreck' people like Paris Hilton--that's not charisma as much as it is about fascination with pathos.)

Fully committing to what you are doing and being confident in who you are, these are components of charisma! Vulnerability is included because you have to be able to reveal the real you when you are on stage--else, you seem aloof, indifferent or worse, insincere.

Believe it or not, actors have just as much problem with this as other performers...and they are supposed to be able to project feelings as part of their job. Many have problems with this and you can see it in their performances. Being vulnerable and sincere is harder than it sounds.

That's why I reward innovation each year with the Aha! Blogolicious! Media Innovator Awards. Taking something and finding an interesting, surprising but still pleasing way to present it is a key to artistic success--and at least a hopeful chance of financial success as well.

This process applies to all the creative arts. Let's look at what's been happening with So You Think You Can Dance, since that is a combination of two types of art (television and dance.)

Yesterday, on the first elimination show, I wasn't surprised at the three couples in the bottom three, even though the judges were. The judges (dance oriented people) were surprised that Faina and Cedric were not favorites of the fans. I wasn't. The judges are likely looking at the contestants as dancers and therefore considering their entire body of work, not just their current performances or individual dance solos. They also probably ignore the personalities, except when onstage, and even perhaps the audience reaction to the performance, and focus more on the technical aspects.

My belief is that the audience, the fans, in contrast, are judging the contestants by television standards--are the dancers likeable? Do they manage to resonate with the likes, hopes and needs of the fans who watch them? It's more about the people and their current performance (entertainment value) than about their technical skill. True, the dancers can't be horrible, but the caliber of the competition rules that issue out. We've already seen with ABC's Dancing With The Stars (which uses a combination of judges and fan scores to determine rankings) that likeability plays a huge part in the process, though typically the combination of skill and likeability will ultimately determine the winner. It's not purely a popularity contest.

So why Faina and Cedric? Well, my belief is that the fans have been watching all along. They've seen how Faina complains a lot and seems to go into a 'poor little me, I'm a victim' mode when she is stressed. This may be unfair, but that is how she is being portrayed through the video footage shown. The fans also remember Nigel's dismissal of Cedric, even going so far as to say he might bring down his partner. Thus, given their so-so performance on Wednesday, it's not surprising to me that they were low on the fans' list.

However, given that, we also see how the two dance shows differ. SYTYCD doesn't really allow a lot of fan control of the situation. They've made sure that it's the judges who choose who goes and who stays (at least until the very end.) The fans only get to limit the judges choices, but cannot control the process beyond that. Even when the judges knew that certain couples performances, or individual solos were HEAVILY favored by the studio audience, the judges often ignored that audience reaction and went with their own biases. You could tell from the hisses (when the judges didn't like them) or the cheers (during the performance or the judging when it agreed with the audience) whom the studio audience favored.

Hence, I wasn't surprised at the bottom three. I wasn't surprised when Ashlee was chosen to go home. I was surprised when the judges sent Nicky home, since judging by the audience reactions to his solo (versus Cedric's solo), I, personally, would have assumed that Cedric was the one going home.

But that's the nature of subjective judging, the real surprise seems to be that the judges don't get this fact. Mary's tearful angry reaction that Faina was in the bottom group demonstrates this disconnect perfectly. She was going by Faina's auditions, not her actual performance or her victim personality that seemed to indicate that she (Faina) felt she deserved special treatment. Nigel's reactions were more subdued but then he is both a judge and the producer of the show--no matter how much he claims that he is being objective and fair, he is still thinking also like a producer. That means he's by nature trying to figure out who will make the most interesting reality game show television--reality game shows tend to need a lot of drama and will try to force it if necessary. Thus, keeping Cedric might be more motivated toward keeping a possible 'drama' moment around. He also would be aware of the actual rankings, so he could simply be choosing to drop the lowest ranked couple for convenience sake.

All this is speculation, don't mistake that. These are things that could be happening in order to make the show more interesting, as far as the producers think. Reality game shows (and this is definitely of that type) don't necessarily reflect 'reality'...hence, how contestants are portrayed can be manipulated by editing and other tricks, including subjective choices about who to drop. The only true thing you can be sure of, is that fan votes are counted and used to create the rankings. If they tried to alter that, then they'd be off the air as such a scandal broke.

But hopefully you can see that performance, personality and technique are all important--not just technique. That's why I always emphasize that how you present yourself to the world is critical to your success--and why it must be an HONEST presentation, created through vulnerability, self-confidence and sincerity. (Having a good sense of humor about yourself helps, too.)

The choices you make are your choices. You are not a victim. Being a victim doesn't sit well with others, and only results in sympathy in small doses. Most people would look at celebrities, singers, bands, dancers and others in the public eye and think 'wow, they have it all.' If those people constantly complain about their life, not appreciating what they have, then it wears thin even on the most ardent of fans. Fans are willing to show sympathy--if they genuinely like you--but how can they genuinely like you if you act entitled? Or self-serving? Or uncaring about their feelings and hopes?

Would you like someone like that? If you said yes, then I'd suggest you ask yourself 'why?' Why would you like someone that treats you badly? You deserve better. You deserve to be appreciated and loved for who you are and anyone that treats you badly, rich or poor, famous or non, isn't worthy of you.

As a performer, you are both performing for yourself and for them. You need that connection with others--for more than financial gain. It's a spiritual connection in a way--it's about being human and part of the human experience. So... Bring joy to others. Bring hope to others. The more you give unselfishly, because you honestly want to make others happy, the happier you will be -- and the more love you will receive in return. Your art will expand beyond your wildest dreams.

So, that's about it. No MySpace band music review this week. Why? Because I didn't find one that I thought had sufficient merit. Hey, it happens! Hopefully, next week, I'll have better hunting.

But at least now you can understand better what I'm looking for -- and more importantly, why I look for certain types and traits. I also believe that you don't need a major label or a celebrity connection to be a hit-maker. The best of the best didn't rely on connections or famous relations. They are passionate about what they do and unafraid to not only show that passion and emotional need, but also unafraid to put in the work required to reach a level of technical perfection to back up their passion.

That makes a potential hit.

Have a great weekend!

CG Anderson
owner & chief bottle washer
Little Dogs Media
blog: http://ahablogolicious.blogspot.com/
Aha! Blogolicious! Musings and Meanings of Non-Sensical Events and Canada... (a music/art/dance/media review site with a bit of humor to mix it up)

Remember, Obstacles are Actually Opportunities...look at the why behind the what...

PROFILE/INTERVIEW: Karen Nielsen, 2006 Aha! Blogolicious! Media Award Winner (Innovation) for film, Perceptions

Profile/Interview with 2006 Aha! Blogolicious! Media Award Winner Karen Nielsen (Perceptions, the movie)

Interview with Karen Nielsen, writer/director/producer of Innovation Winner, a short film using dance melded with narrative, Perceptions

This week, as promised, I profile another of the Aha! Blogolicious! Media Award winners. Karen Nielsen of Blue Finn Productions wrote, directed and produced the short film Perceptions, an intense, dramatic narrative about drug abuse and its terrifying consequences but seen through the tragic, double vision of the woman at the center of the conflict—she exists in two worlds. One is her real but very harsh existence where she cannot escape the misery or the consequences of her drug addiction. The other illusionary world is idyllic and passionate, as seen through the cloud of drug intoxication. One world is mundane and ugly; the other is lyrical and portrayed through imaginative dance and sensual dancers. In showing the drug victim’s perceptions in this manner, it makes it easier for all of us to understand the deadly pull of drug use. Drugs are used to escape reality, but the high is only imaginary and the consequences ultimately dire.

This is Karen Nielsen’s second major film offering as a director. The first, Infinite Moments, another short film about a woman dealing with the night she was raped, has also received rave reviews and acclaim. She has done several other shorts as well as a PSA promoting reading and education in Canada as well as a comedy called HULA. Her work though, seems more typically dramatic in nature and more and more seems to be taking on social issues within the context of her narratives.

Karen was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Canada and attended the Vancouver Film School. She graduated with a Certificate of Recommendation from the Foundation Film Program I n1996. From there, she worked as an Associate Producer at the Toronto International Film Festival for the show REEL TO REAL and spent three years in Toronto working for Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Alliance Atlantis. Karen began her career as a producer and then as a writer/producer. Infinite Moments was Karen’s directorial debut.

[Question] What do you feel your movie is about? (both at the surface, deeper and even personally...)

[Karen] Perceptions is about a woman who is thrust into an alternative reality during a drug induced high where she is dancing in a world of her own. The woman’s perceptions are shaken as her two realities collide. As the intensity heightens and her confusion escalates, she is forced to choose between her two loves.

Perceptions addresses how we can sometimes see ourselves, compared to how we are perceived by those around us. Where the drug addicted woman sees herself as a beautiful dancer when she is high, her drug dealer as a sexy bad boy and her boyfriend as a knight in shining armor. Nothing is black and white, she is not just a strung out crazy drug-addicted woman, she is a person with issues, who is living in an alternative reality to get by. Sometimes people can get through with the support of those that love them and sometimes they don’t. The important thing is not to give up on someone because you perceive them a certain way, if the boyfriend had given up on her she would have died alone with a heartless drug dealer. The dance works in creating the alternative reality, showing how she is seeing everything and really feeling her emotion instead of being distracted by her drug-addicted appearance and only seeing that. I wanted to include the narrative to help the audience understand the journey and be aware of the judgments and perceptions that are made.

[Question] Where do you want to go as an artist? If you just want to be successful and buy matching mansions for you and your mum, that's ok. It's just that most artists I've met usually also have other, deeper goals for what they want to do with their work and what effects they have on the world.

[Karen] I think the world is endless for where I want to go as an artist. Yes I want to make narrative films that make a statement and get in peoples face. Subtlety has never been my style. Film is a wonderful way to reach huge audiences and make an awareness and hopeful change on many issues. One of the most satisfying things for me as a filmmaker is when I am approached by someone that connected with my film, and were moved by it. Just to let someone know that there are other people out there that understand or at least want to understand is so important. Too many people in this world feel that they are all alone.

I am also excited to just go out and have a little fun directing a romantic comedy or a thriller. I think all of my films will always have an underlying message, but sometimes you just need to turn your brain off and have a little fun

[Question] How did you get started? Did you always know that this was what you wanted to do?

[Karen] I started out volunteering at a local cable channel, doing some camera work and assisting the directors. When I started to think that this may fit for me I went to the Vancouver Film School. After film school, I thought I knew what I wanted to do, be an editor but that didn’t fit as nicely as I thought it would. Then I realized, I know what industry I want to be in but I am not sure where I fit in it. So over the years I tried numerous areas of the industry from production, marketing and publicity, post production and producing. Then when I was trying to figure out who should direct a short I had written, I couldn’t think of anyone that knew the story and what I wanted to say with it as much as I did. With the encouragement of my peers I decided to direct my first film ‘Infinite Moments’. For the first time in my life things began to fit and I realized I had found exactly where I was supposed to be in this industry, a director. I haven’t looked back since.

[Question] What is your inspiration for your work? How do you stay inspired in such a tough business?

[Karen] The people around me inspire me for stories and keep me inspired. From family & friends who support me and believe in me to complete strangers who see my films and are moved by them. I truly believe that everyone deserves to find happiness, and part of my happiness comes from making films and I would never let anyone stop me from following my dreams to being happy, no matter what the obstacle. As they always say, nothing in life worth having is ever easy.

[Question] Your movie has a deep social meaning to it (drug use) but you use dance as a way of telling that story. That is very innovative. Why dance? How did you come up with the idea? Is dance being used as more than a story telling mechanism here? Is it also being used as a metaphor?

[Karen] I chose to do a dance film as I wanted the challenge of being able to capture emotion through movement and not words. The music by Kubilay Uner inspired me for the story, as the music came before anything else. I had wanted to do a film revolving around the perceptions that we have of ourselves and that of others, as they are always different. I hate how society in general likes to shoebox everyone into a category. A Drug addict is disgusting and could stop if they really wanted to be clean, they are just throwing away their lives. The statement may be true, but it is not that simple and not that black and white. At the end of the day people are human and have vulnerabilities and insecurities, some more than others. Some are stronger to overcome obstacles and some are not, but that does not mean that they are less of a person because of it. I wanted the lead character in Perceptions to be seen as the strung out junkie who did want to make a change and come clean and have a wonderful future with this great supportive guy (her prince charming). That’s how I presented her, but the dance realm shows her how she sees herself. She needs the drugs to feel strong and beautiful, without them she feels insecure and disgusting, how we see her in the narrative. The dance in the film is her high, and when we are in the narrative we see her reality that she keeps slipping back to. When you see the two worlds, who wouldn’t want to stay in the dance euphoria.

The choreography by Josh Beamish really translated everything from the script along with the performances of the dancers. I learned a lot about the power of movement and expression to convey emotion and story.

[Question] What are you planning next? More dance or other arts being melded with film work? Or more traditional film storytelling?

[Karen] I am planning to do another dance film with ‘Perceptions’ choreographer Josh Beamish in which we are currently applying for funding for entitled ‘The Ballerina’ written by Dennis Goldberg and I am scheduled to shoot a short comedy in April. I am currently working on developing two feature film scripts, one drama and a comedy. I love doing a mixture of genre’s and formats of story telling. I really let the story and/or characters drive my imagination.

[Question] Anything you want to say to your fans about anything, this award, your work, anything?

[Karen] I love that people have embraced ‘Perceptions’, showing that dance is still an entertaining and powerful form of expression that people want to watch. I love pushing boundaries, and having this film represent being an innovator is very exciting and inspiring to continue telling the stories that excite me and allow myself to move outside of my comfort zone and push not only my own boundaries but push everything around me to bring my films to the world.

Thank you, Karen. It was great getting your perceptions!

For more information about Karen, her production company or her movies, including upcoming screenings, please see the information and links below:

Upcoming Screenings:
INFINITE MOMENTS
Okanagan Film Festival March 28 ­ Apr 1, 2007 (Kelowna, BC)
Rebel Planet Short Film Festival Apr 20 ­ 22, 2007 (Los Angeles, CA)
DeReel Independent Film Festival May 3 ­ 13, 2007 (Melbourne, AUS)
Swansea Bay Film Festival Tues June 5 @ Dylan Thomas Centre (Swansea Bay,
Old South Wales ­ UK)

PERCEPTIONS
Swansea Bay Film Festival Wed June 6 @ Dylan Thomas Centre (Swansea Bay,
Old South Wales ­ UK)

For more information on screenings please visit the Blue Finn Productions
website at http://www.bluefinnproductions.com

My Spaces
http://www.myspace.com/perceptionsthemovie
http://www.myspace.com/bluefinnproductions.com
http://www.myspace.com/janitorsoffice
http://www.myspace.com/infinitemomentsmovie


CG Anderson
Little Dogs Media
Aha! Blogolicious!

Please do NOT copy or redistribute this interview (or pictures) without my express permission. This is because any interviews involve other people and their proprietary work, hard work, I might add—so it is a courtesy to them to treat their hard work with respect. Thank you.

Body of missing dancer may have been found

Body discovered as authorities continue search for missing Cowley College dance team dancer/Ark City Dance Studio teacher, 19 year old, Jodi Sanderholm. (Arkansas City, Kansas)

Here's the link to the story:
http://www.komotv.com/news/national/5140997.html

Be careful out there everyone. There are too many dangerous types that don't care about who they hurt out there.

CG

REVIEW: So You Think You Can Dance LIVE Tour 2006 Seattle Premier September 12, 2006

REVIEW: So You Think You Can Dance LIVE Tour 2006 Seattle Premier September 12, 2006

Benji Schwimmer, Travis Wall, Heidi Groskreutz, Donyelle Jones, Ivan Koumaev, Natalie Fotopoulos, Allison Holker, Ryan Rankine, Martha Nichols and Dimitry Chaplin Rock the House at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle!

FOX's summer hit, So You Think You Can Dance kicked off its first ever LIVE tour at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA last night. The top ten dancers from the second season put on a stunning show for fans and critics alike.

Local son, Ivan Koumaev, season two winner Swing Specialist Benji Schwimmer and runners up Contemporary specialist Travis Wall, Latin specialist Heidi Groskreutz (Benji's actual cousin) and Hip Hop bootie-diva Donyelle Jones all gave stand-out performances as did the entire cast of the top ten—proving that they are indeed an exceptional group of young up-and-coming dancers.

The two month 35 city national tour sold out in just under thirty minutes, even with the addition of two extra performances (only on the east coast, sorry, folks.) The talented cast face a long, grueling road schedule, so one can only hope that the screaming fans and appreciative crowds will make the journey easier—and injury free.

My personal favorite Travis Wall was welcomed just as heartily as hometown boy, Ivan Koumaev. Wall gave several brilliant performances, most of them favorites from the television series already but also including one that he had apparently choreographed himself just for the road show—showcasing his talent as an emerging choreographer as well.

Several of the favorite routines, both the show pieces done by the cast and the individual, short competition pieces done by the pairs, were included in the show including the "Rama lama...," "Chicago," and "SexyBack" routines (the SexyBack routine was lengthened to include the entire cast and the Rama piece was cut down because it now has only 10 dancers.) Travis Wall, Ivan Koumaev, Heidi Groskreutz and Benji Swimmer were also standouts in their short solo pieces as was a spanish solo number by Dmitry Chaplin (and yes, the Ryan and Heidi 'bongo' number is in there, too, as is the 'Gyrate' aka 'Nerdolicious Tranji' number.)

This is not to detract from the fact that everyone of the ten were absolutely wonderful to watch—there just isn't time or space to cover everything in the two and a half hour show (including breaks—for the audience, since I'm sure the performers were running around non-stop before, during and after.) It was an opening night and there were bobbles though—nothing major and nothing that the fans wouldn't forgive. Many of the pieces weren't as polished as they had been during their original debut on the television show and others were more polished. Some of the competition pieces that were not altered or lengthened were noticeable in their uneasy brevity and odd cut-off. Given that the ten dancers had only ten days to pull the show together (even given the fact that almost all were pieces they had already done before), and that it was a grueling and tiring amount of dancing to do, it was a very polished and professional show—not to mention highly entertaining.

The show has not been without controversy and many viewers are still turned off by the need to show and embarrass the worst dancers (in the video segments of the TV show that were also shown during the live show) that tried out. It's unfortunately something that American Idol made popular (making fun of others, including ones that don't realize that they are 'bad' and then filming them as they are humiliated into tears) and now seems a standard requirement for any talent oriented reality show. That is a shame, a true shame.

There has also been a great deal of (shall we say?) discussion as to the sexual orientation of several of the dancers, especially on the show's website. Wisely, the producers and the FOX network took the high road and simply ignored the debate and didn't encourage their contestants to discuss it either. The rarified world of dance is likely a bit different from the realities of a hit TV series, especially considering the demographics targeted, and while the performer should never be confused with the performance, in television, knowing too much about the private life of a contestant can negatively affect ratings sometimes—especially when the performers are male. So kudos to FOX for clamping down on the gossip, even with Travis Wall's unfortunate choice in MySpace website name.

It's all to the good for fans looking to connect to their favorite dancer and find out more about their career and life, since most (possibly all?) of the contestants have MySpace profile sites now, but hopefully most of them seem to be more conservative in website name choice, not to mention easier to find if the sitename is based on their actual name. (I didn't check all of them.) It's always a tragedy when a brilliant performance is overshadowed by all things that rightly should remain private (even for "public" individuals --not just sex but anything of a sexual, drug, private, etc. focus--unless they choose to make it public themselves)—and especially since some of these very young dancers might find themselves being targeted and pulled into politically hot debates because of such incautious and potentially "Hollywood-career at least" damaging behavior. Luckily, the world of dance shouldn't care and will likely embrace this talented crop of names-in-the-making. The fans certainly don't mind.

However, since the show is sold-out and basically only to fans of the show, any dancing missteps, hiccups or curtailed dance routines (as well as any image issues) shouldn't be a problem. The show itself is worth the price of admission and FOX and the show's producers will hopefully realize that they should quickly get the season 2 DVD out for sale—assuming they are going to do a DVD of the second season. The collateral for sale at the Seattle opening was disappointing, from the quickie 'program' that didn’t include any photos or information on the show itself (just the ten very very very short bios—their pictures were nice though--plus two small photos of the understudies) and the T-shirts for sale were even more disappointing. This event, with better T-shirts, programs and other merchandising, could have made a small fortune based on the enthusiasm of the crowd. Perhaps the producers will do better in that regard with the later cities. Seattle got the short end of the stick in that situation—but happily, getting to see the premier definitely makes up for it.

If you've got tickets, don't scalp them. You want to see this show, especially if you're a fan. Congratulations, FOX, So You Think You Can Dance Producers, cast and crew. Keep up the momentum!

This article may be copied in whole or in part, as long as fair use rules are observed, no parts are modified from the original and credit is given when quoted or reposted.

Links to Online Reviews Found so far:

Seattle Times Review

CG Anderson is a 10 year new media provocateur involved in technology, science and the online world. Also a writer, blogger and novelist. CG's comments are personal and opinionated and solely the responsibility of the author, so there. Don't like the opinions, disagree, agree, don't know? Great, make a comment—clean ones will be allowed, netiquette-challenged ones will be ignored!