Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving! Today, I decided since it's been awhile, that I'd make a post about all of the different things about dance that I'm thankful for, and of course, an update on all of the events/videos/news that has been occurring in the dance world lately! Since there have been so many of them, if you're like me and have been a little behind, due to school/work, here's your quick daily intake/summary of all things related to dance in the past few months and upcoming events as well! In the future, I'll be trying to make more posts on book reviews of dance related books I've read such as Misty Copeland's autobiography and Jenifer Ringer's as well. They were both excellent reads and I can't wait to tell you all about them!
So anyways, some dance news include of course the So You Think You Can Dance: Next Generation Season 13 that occurred over the summer. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, it was excellent! One of the top 10 contestants was also Canadian from Alberta, Tate McRae, she's a phenomenal dancer! However, all of the contestants were amazing beyond most of the viewer's expectations! Some of my favourites from the auditions, include Sophia Lucia (although, she didn't make it to the top 10, she's always one of my favourite dancers!), Avery Gay (from the Master Ballet Academy in Arizona and Little Big Shots), Diana Sophia (A contemporary dancer), Merrick (an amazing hip hop dancer), and so many more it's hard to name them all! The top 10 were as follows: Daniela Avanzini (Ballroom with Jonathan Platero), Tate McRae (Contemporary with Kathryn McCormick), Kida Burns (Hip Hop with "Fik-Shun"), Tahani Anderson (Hip Hop with Comfort Fedoke), Jake Monreal (Ballroom with Jenna Johnson), Ruby Castro (Ballroom with Paul Karmiryan), Jordan Nata'e (Contemporary with Sasha Mallory), JT Church (Contemporary with Robert Roldan), Emma Hellenkamp (Tap with Gaby Diaz), and Sheaden Gabriel (Hip Hop with Marko Germar). Along with that, the judges were Paula Abdul, Jason Derulo, Nigel Lythgoe, and Maddie Ziegler. As for the winner of the competition it was KIDA BURNS!!! Congratulations Kida! If you haven't already seen the show but would like to, the episodes are already online on their website, and you really should because all of the routines were spectacular! One of my personal favourites from the all-stars was to the song "Feathery (Bonus Track Version)" by Milk Chance. Below I've added all of my favourite routines from each of the top 10 contestants.
"Feathery" Dance by So You Think You Can Dance All-Stars Season 13
Emma & Gaby's Tap Performance to "Watch Me Do" by Meghan Trainor
Kida and Fik-Shun's Hip Hop Performance to "Winning" by Fingazz
Tate & Kathryn's Contemporary Performance to "Footprints" by Jeff Grace (Tate self-choreographed this duet as one of the assignments)
Sheaden and Marko's Hip Hop Performance to "Why I'm Here" by Statik Link feat. Young Live starts at: 2:54min-4:32min
Daniela and Jonathon's Ballroom Performance to "Latinos" by Proyecto Uno
Jenna and Jake's Cha Cha Performance to "Ain't Your Mama: by Jennifer Lopez
Jordan and Jake's Hip Hop Performance to "Bad Man" by Missy Elliott feat. Vibes Cartel & M.I.A.
J.T. and Robert's Contemporary Dance to "The Mirror" by Alexandre Desplat
Tahani and Comfort's Lyrical Hip Hop Performance to "I'm Going Down" by Rose Royce starts from 1:06min-2:48min
Ruby and Paul's Ballroom Performance to "Malevo" by Electro Dub Tango
In other news, Maddie Ziegler (as seen on "Dance Moms", "SYTYCD") is now on tour dancing onstage with Sia at select performances, as well as having her own clothing line by the name "Maddie Style", which has the smart catchphrase, "Wear What Moves You", that allows every piece of clothing to be moveable for dancing, etc. The clothing line is available now online and select Nordstrom stores and is available in sizes for both tweens and juniors. Additionally, the upcoming animated movie, "Ballerina" starring Elle Fanning and Maddie Ziegler will be released on December 14th, 2016. Maddie plays the role of Camille (the blonde ballerina). Additionally, Maddie has also starred in the latest Sia video for her song called, "The Greatest", which is one of my new favourite songs for my playlist!
Here is the link to the clothing line: maddiestyle.com
"MaddieStyle" Clothing Line Commercial
Sia-"The Greatest" Music Video
"Ballerina" Movie Trailer
Another teen dancer making news is Sophia Lucia! Not only did she audition and make it through to Day 3 of the Academy portion, but she is also filming a movie called "A Nutcracker Christmas" to air on Hallmark's Channel on December 10th, 2016. She plays the role of Lilly's Niece, Sophie, who plays Clara in the Nutcracker. This past summer she also competed in Varna IBC and won the Gold medal along with her partner, despite being too young to compete.
Sophia Lucia and William Jackson Beckham-Don Quixote Pas de Deux at IBC Varna 2016
Sophia Lucia and Jack Beckham-Le Coursaire at Varna Gala 2016
Sophia Lucia and Jack Beckham-"Protect Me" at Varna Gala 2016
Sophia Lucia and Jack Beckham-"The Path" at Varna IBC Round 2: 2016
Sophia Lucia's SYTYCD Audition
Another trendsetting dancer is Chloe Lukasiak (Dance Moms), who recently starred in the Lifetime TV movie "Center Stage: On Pointe" as the character Gwen Murphy. Along with filming the movie "Cowgirl's Story" as Savanah Stocker, the lead role in the movie "Loophole" as Lexi Smith, filming 2 episodes for the miniseries "Welcome to My World" as the role Flynn Harrington, and guest appearance in the new TV show "Superstore". Additionally, she has launched a web series called "Dance Classes with Chloe" through the Ownzones.com network and has also partnered with Playtex Sport for the campaign commercial "Ready, Set, Play On!"
"Center Stage: On Pointe" Movie Trailer
Chloe Lukasiak on set of NBC's "Superstore"
Playtex Sport Commercial
Promo for Chloe Lukasiak's OWNZONES Dance Series
In addition, to all of the other dancers is none other than the amazing, Misty Copeland who will be the lead ballerina role in the upcoming Disney film, "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms". She will also voice herself on an animated Tv show called "Peg + Cat" this year. Along with that comes her new book called "Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating your way to a Lighter, Stronger, and More Graceful You" coming out on March 21st, 2017. In addition she has partnered with the photography Gregg Delman for a photography book of her dancing available on Amazon.com. She's also recently completed a commercial sponsored by Dannnon and Oikos Yogurt. Along with new campaigns and videos with Under Armour!
Oikos Greek Yogurt- Misty Copeland Commercial
Oikos Greek Yogurt- Misty Copeland Commercial #2
On another note, check out some of Sharkcookie Dancewear for some super cute and fashionable dance apparel and clothes :) Their instagram is: @sharkcookie_models and their website is: www.sharkcookie.com/shop.
In addition, to all of this exciting updates and news was World Ballet Day on October 4th, 2016. I hope that all of you took the opportunity to dance ballet that day! I hope that you all enjoyed these updates on the dance world, oh and before I forget, make sure to book your tickets to the Nutcracker soon, and for more information on ones in your region check it out under the tab "Events"!
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