The final episode of Season 1 makes it very clear this is a
test run. Most of the show is pre-packaged filler, with some results thrown in.
It kind of felt like the producers went “Oh, crap, we have to do a results
show. What is that supposed to look
like?” There are two new numbers created especially for the show, but otherwise
the dancers just repeat some old dances. The dancers themselves (supposedly)
chose their favorite dance of the season, but to be honest, none of the dances
were really worth seeing again.
The two most interesting performances come from
non-contestants. First, we have Anthony Bryant, otherwise known as “that dude
from with the ribbon” from the auditions. He dances with his ribbon again, and
it’s clear this guy is really good. I’m not surprised to find out he’s at
Julliard. At the end of his performance, Nigel waves a little white ribbon in
surrender. It’s a great PR move – no one has to apologize, and everyone saves
face. The second performance is by a hip hop group known as the Gruvaloos (http://www.groovaloos.com/), which
features some pretty impressive break dancing.
The interesting thing about the way the results are
announced is that Lauren Sanchez doesn’t just say who came in what place – she
also announces what percentage of the vote they got. Here’s the breakdown:
Fourth
place: Ashlé, with 8.8% of the vote
Third
place: Jamile, with 24.9%
Second
place: Melody, with 26.8%
Winner: Nick, with 37.7%
So there wasn’t a lot of space between Jamile and Melody,
but I felt pretty bummed for Ashlé. I don’t recall them giving this much
information again. Maybe the producers also thought it was cruel? Seems an
unlikely kindness from television producers.
At any rate, Nick wins, and Melody looks sincerely thrilled
for him. If you recall, they were best friends before the show, and were also
roommates. Neither one is asked to say anything. Instead, Nick is immediately
asked to perform a solo. It seems like kind of an odd thing to ask someone to
do at such an emotional moment, but he launches into some gravity-defying leaps,
just before the stage explodes into confetti.
Where Are They Now:
Ashlé Dawson:
Since Season 1 wrapped, Ashlé has performed with Cirque du
Soliel, become a faculty member at the Broadway Dance Center in New York (see
her full bio here), and has founded her own pre-professional dance company
called Ashlé & Co, to name just a few of her accomplishments. You can view
her dance reel on youtube here.
Jamile McGee:
Jamile has his own website, http://www.jamilemcgee.com/, which
always makes looking up information about someone easy. He choreographs, he
teaches, and he performs on tours and in music videos. A few of the artists
he’s worked for include Rihanna, Beyonce, and Mariah Carey.
Melody Lacayanga:
The shortest season 1 contestant has been up to some pretty
big things. She’s performed for choreographers Sonya Tayeh, Mark Meismer, and
Justin Giles. She’s gone on tour with Miley Cyrus (whose tour was choreographed
by Soyah Tayeh. Now there’s an odd
match). She’s on the faculty of iHollywood Dance (along with fellow SYTYCD
alums Alex Wong, Dominic Sandoval, Lauren Froderman, and Nathan Trasoras, as
well as Tabitha and Napoleon). There’s also a great interview with her in
DanceSpirit Magazine that’s pretty recent: you can read it here.
Nick Lazzarini:
Nick’s gone on to great things. He’s performed for Adele,
and was a founding member of the Evolution Dance company He’s another faculty member of the Broadway Dance Center .
The list of accomplishments goes on, but the most impressive (and interesting)
thing is that he is currently roommates with Travis Wall, who is a longtime
friend of his. The two of them are working on founding a new dance company,called “Shaping Sound,” with two other close friends. Oxygen Media is following
these efforts in a reality series, tentatively entitled “All the Right Moves.”
The show starts airing July 31, and despite the terrible title, I admit I can’t
wait to watch it.
You can watch his dance reel here.
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