Dance War Episode 3

OK... I am going to give Dance War one more week. And it's ratings aren't even that good, seeing how it was the #17 show last week. It's just not impressing me; everyone I performed with in college (OK, almost everyone) could be on Dance War and do just as well or better than the contestants that they have... I mean, maybe they should just leave the whole singing and dancing at the same time thing to Broadway. Just a thought. Zack is really the only one who stands out to me at all; the others, for the most part, need some more stage time. Perhaps they should send all of them to a musical theatre camp or something. IDK.

Anyhow, I just now got to watch last Monday's episode, and it was the first time that the two teams faced off. They each did two performances, one highlighting the girls and one the guys. Bruno is lucky--he has hotties Phillip and Zach on his team. I'm sure he knows just how lucky he is...

Bruno's team appears stronger as a whole to me, but his girls are definitely weaker, especially in the singing department. They were out of breath or screaming throughout their performance. In their first number, guys dressed in hats and girls in "Lady Marmalade"-esque attire, the team reminded me of the Ball State Singers or Live Entertainment at Cedar Point. Not that it's a bad thing necessarily, but let's be honest: it's a primetime network TV show. Come on. At the end of their second performance, Zack's face said it all to me: "That sucked and I know it. I'm too good for this show."

Despite technical problems (Chris--I've been there when your mic isn't turned on), Carrie Ann's first performance was decent. The tempo was way to slow and Charity stood out as a weak dancer. I think that as far as natural vocal talent goes, Phillip is just as good as Zach. The second performance was better; the girls actually sounded pretty nice together. Throughout, Kelsey seemed to have it together the most--she's very consistent.

Now that I think about it, it's really hard to say which team is stronger. Both had a good performance and a bad performance on the show...

I like the fact that the show opened up with a Spice Girls song; how trendy! The teams joined forces for the opener and closer and it was nice (slash a hot mess) to see them all on stage at once.

Final Thought: My favorite quote from the night, though I wish I knew a little more about what he meant by it: "It was MAN TIME." Phillip. Yum.

Final Final Thought: Did I mention in an earlier post that Zack is the ex-fiancee of DWTS's Julianne Hough? The reality TV family grows both larger and smaller every day... And Zack's hair looks much better short.

Dance War Episode 2

I have so many notes about the second episode of Dance War and I'm pretty excited to see how the season unfolds.  To be honest, I still don't really understand the premise, but oh well.  Here's what I think.

It's absolutely great that the show opens up with a big musical number.  "Straight out the gates" is what that's called, I believe.  And the opener is a fierce medley so it's even better.

The way the show is set up is like this: the guys all perform together then are broken into two groups in which they get some solo time.  Then, the girls do the same.  Finally, Bruno and Carrie Ann pick who they want on their respective teams "schoolyard style."  I like it.  Here are my notes about each of the performers:

Zach is the obvious crowd-favorite, and for good reason: he's a solid dancer and a solid singer.  He's got great looks, a hot body, a sparkle in his eyes, and a true knack for performing.

Maxx, though cute, needs to get rid of that sick rat-tail.  He's weak vocally and while he can dance well, it just doesn't do it for me.

Qis: "Dance War is my Superbowl."  That's  little dramatic.  He has an interesting voice; my jury is still out on him.

Chris is totally cute.  He's got a nice voice, but not as big as some of the other guys.

Bradley, whose brother is on Broadway (apparently), is a very intense dancer.  His singing skills leave a little something to be desired.

Tony sings way too hard.  He's just not that good of a singer I don't think.

Phillip has a nice voice.  He's obviously using his body to get votes, and that's just fine with me.  He's ripped.

Kelsey has a cute voice.  She's hot.  As Carrie Ann says, she's consistent, which is important in a live performance show.

Corina definitely loves being the center of attention.  She's sexy and her voice is dece.

Alysa, who didn't plan on auditioning for the show, thinks she is some fierce singer.  She's not.  Nor is she a dancer.  

Charity is cute, but she's gets into trouble doing the whole dancing and singing at the same time thing.

Mariel is my favorite singer of the girls; she's got that fierce belt and great runs.  Loves it.

Lacey thinks she is a diva and the best singer on the show, but she doesn't really do it for me.  She's an OK dancer.

Elizabeth might be a good singer--she's got that high, pingy belt--but I just don't see that sparkle which is pertinent to being a performer.

In general, the girls' numbers didn't impress me as much.  I mean, I think that the girls are going to have to work harder to win my heart as well as the hearts of the voters...  There are so many talented female performers over, so people aren't as likely to be "wowed" by them.  The guys, on the other hand, have it easier--a guy who can sing and dance and look hot has a free pass to fame.

By the end of the show, the teams have been decided.  Next week they'll compete and...  Well, something will happen, I'm not sure what.  Maybe Wikipedia can help explain it.  If you want to check out the bios of the cast members, click here (I think this was in an earlier post, too).

Dance War Premier!

I just finished watching the premier of Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann online, and I think I'm going to get really into the show.  It's so fierce!  I took all kinds of notes about it, so here's some of my thoughts...

The whole initial audition process is pretty unique: the people are put into groups of 15 and get a minute or two to freestyle to some music.  If they make it past that round, they dance and sing alone for the judges.  All of this is done in front of a large audience, which makes it quite different from shows like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance?  Anyhow, after the initial auditions, they take 30 people to Hollywood and, after teaching them a routine and doing some coaching, 14 are selected to move on to the finals.

I guess my main question about the show is this: what's the point?  Who is going to actually win?  I mean, I understand that they're making two teams and Carrie Ann and Bruno are going to be the team captains, but what does the winning team get?  And they keep talking about how it's easier to teach a dancer to sing than teach a singer to dance...  I don't know if I agree with that or not.  I mean, I am a singer myself and I kind of learned how to dance, and I know plenty of dancers that could NEVER be taught how to sing.  Maybe that's just because of my background as a singer, but I don't know.  Furthermore, what do Carrie Ann and/or Bruno know about singers?  I understand that they are choreographers or whatever (everyone's a dancer these days...), but after hearing some of their comments, I can tell that they know jack shit about singing.

I'm so happy that Drew Lachey is the host of Dance War; he did such a great job filling in for Samantha on Dancing with the Stars.  Drew is a great B-list celebrity and he's really come a long way since his days in 98 Degrees!

My favorite singer/dancer is obviously Zack; he's gorgeous, has a beautiful voice, and definitely knows how to dance.  I love him and want him to be my boyfriend.

Check out the other performers' bios here, and let me know what you think about this show!

Final Thought/UPDATE: It has just come to my attention that Zach is Julianne Hough's ex-fiancee!  You know, Julianne from DWTS.  The one who I blogged about when rumors were circulating that she and Helio Castroneves were dating...  Interesting...  The reality TV world grows ever smaller!