SYTYCD....hip hop?

I know it's a bit late to say so far in the game, but I felt that this season's SYTYCD hip hop has been lacking, or in general lost the spark that I so loved in the last season.

Maybe because I was so attached to the breakers last season, the ones who helped me find the conviction to dance. Maybe it's the change of choreographers in a style I'm not use to (Nappytabs) or it's just not as greatly entertaining or good (Kourtni and Matt), but I'm just not feeling it.

Nothing wrong with lyrical hip hop, which is the style that Nappytabs go through, or telling a story. Nor did I felt like anything is necessarily wrong with C+O (I think it's Cecily and Odille but I could be wrong), or Lil C's krumping routine. I just felt maybe the execution is getting confused. Hitting hard or hitting the routine does not mean thrashing about, or acting necessarily gangster and touth. Like any other dance, you have to learn when to emphasize the beat and when to back off, even in something as tough as krumping.

Last week, though, with Dave Scott, it changed my skepticism on how good the dancers really are.

Joshua and Courtney's Frankenstein storyline I felt was really cool and worked with Joshua's hitting/popping methods. I think although Courtney did not "hit" as hard as Joshua, her concept of popping was very clear and she was convincing. Although she did a (supposedly) horrible job with doing an illusion turn, I think it is mostly the jeans to blame because they limit the range of motion.

Comfort and Twitch's Studio 54 theme I thought was great. I felt they hit it hard and hit it well, and had more dynamics in how hard or how soft to take the song than any of the other routines thus far. I think they finally showed to the audience how a couple can work together to show off why hip hop needs great musicality. It's not just HITTING EVERY BEAT with a hard thrash of the body, but knowing when to "pop" more or less or when to flow depending on the beat.

Twitch is very professional and clean when he dances, and I think he understands the nuances of dancing to hip hop very clearly, whether he does krumping or popping.

Comfort I have a feeling that she would grow to become a phenomenal hip hop dancer; reading she has only been dancing for 2 1/2 years, it's amazing how much she understands rises and falls. When most girls think of hip hop dancing as twitches and sexy tosses and turns to play up their femininity, Comfort's solos provide that she just...understands. She knows the basics of tutting, leveling herself up and down, and shows off her femininity very well in what is really a "masculine" dance.

I think many people who read my board posts know I have hesitations about Gev, mostly because I don't think he's a b-boy, but just a breakdancer (I'll go through differences later). I think he knows a lot of powermoves, and he certaintly would know the foundation (ie footwork and basic structures) that many breakers have to face, it's just my opinion that the judges threw the word b-boy haphazardly.

Gev has a strong sense of knowing what the people want. He has a gift of combining styles and implement breaking moves not as cute accessories or just "WOW" factors, but a part of a greater picture. I don't think his last solo was particularly great, where his execution was like a competition jazz dancer (you know, move #1...move # 2....then move #3.....), but I felt that his audition piece and his top 14 piece was an indicator that he has a gift of telling a story. He certainly also knows how to pull of other styles, and it's a shame he didn't get the fanbase to support him and push his own personal style even further.