They know they can dance!

Ever since the American Idol season finale on Wednesday, I've been trying to come up with something related to the show to blog about. After all, I did spend the entire season talking about American Idol on the Idol Radio Show. I really wanted to do a blog entry that closed out the season for me.

But this season was capped off with a finale that was a let down, especially being a Taylor Hicks fan. I wasn't too happy with Taylor not being introduced before he sang his new single, Heaven Knows. And judging from the explosion of posts that have occurred on our forum, I'm not the only that felt let down.

So after thinking about and crossing off several ideas, I sat down in front of my TV a few hours ago to watch last night's Season Premiere of So You Think You Can Dance. And the first thing the show did was show Benji Schwimmer winning last season.

And right then and there, I knew what I wanted to blog about.

For those of you who don't know, So You Think You Can Dance is a dancing version of American Idol, minus Simon Cowell. Instead, his boss, Nigel Lythgoe, is one of the judges. Which means the comments can sometimes get just as bad.

The show started in the Summer of 2005 and was an instant hit for the Fox network. Although I watched it occasionally, and was really fascinated with the great dancing, I really didn't schedule it into my weekly viewing. In fact, as Season 1 progressed, I watched it less and less and less. I even missed the Season Finale and the crowning of Nick Lazzarini as the first winner.

As much as I love watching Ballroom Dancing, I didn't even know the show was going to return for another season until after it went on the air in the Summer of 2006. Again, I didn't add this to my weekly TV viewing.

At least, I didn't until I saw this performance by Benji Schwimmer and Heidi Groskreutz on the July 26 performance show.



There is no way you can tell me that your mouth didn't fall to the floor watching those two do that dance.

I immediately fell in love with both Benji and Heidi that night. It was also the night that I became addicted to this show. I watched it each and every week for the rest of the season, and voted nonstop for both Benji and Heidi every week.

After the show and voting ended that night, I went on a search for more information about these two dancers. As it turns out, Benji and Heidi are cousins who have been dancing together in competitions since the 90s.

I found a video of them dancing together at a 1995 dance compeition. Benji was 11 and Heidi was 14 then, and they were pretty good. As good as they were then, they were even better at a 2001 US Open Swing Dance Championship. And even better still at the 2005 US Open Swing Dance Championships, where they one first place in their divison. Do you recognize several of those steps from that year? They were incorporated the next year into their Mambo routine.

When Benji and Heidi did solo dances or were partnered with other contestants on So You Think You Can Dance, they were terrific. When they were partnered with each other, they were untouchable. Every results night I was worried that one or the other would be sent home, cause I knew they both needed each other to go all the way. Thankfully, America agreed with me and they both made it to the finale.

Before I end this blog entry, there is one other performance from last season that I have to rave about. Normally on the show, the pairs are male-female. However, on the final performance night (August 9), each of the four dancers were paired with each of the remaining dancers. This meant that Benji was paired with his fellow male finalist, Travis Wall. The routine they created was so extremely funny, it has become one of my all time favorites. Check it out for yourself.



There is no way you can tell me that's not one of the funniest dances ever.

Season 3 started last night (May 24) with the first of the audition shows. Just like it's Idol sister show, they did showcase some of the really bad dancers (hey, if you show up thinking you're all that when you're not, you deserve to be embarassingly showcased). And there was one dancer that was so bad, I don't have a clue how to even describe it (if you watched the show, you know who I'm talking about).

But there were some very good dancers there, including one couple who danced together and was easily the best of the night. After just one night, the season is already shaping up to be another great one.

For those of you who, like me, love this show, it now has its own board within TheOfficialSoulPatrol.com. Just go to the forum and look for the So You Think You Can Dance board under the "Music and Dance" category.

So tell me what you think of this show, Benji Schwimmer, Heidi Groskreutz, previous seasons, and the new season under way now.


Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Birmingham, Alabama




# posted by Alan @ 4:38 AM                                        Post a Comment