Unification? What Unification?
January 4
The world has come together
for another war....this time in the form of dancing. "Superstars of
Dance." The newest way to bring in 2009. Finally, the good folks that
gave us "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" brings a
competition to see which country rules the world....of dancing. In the
next few weeks, you will watch the nations prance about on stage. When
the smoke clears, only one is the global dominator.
How will it be decided? An international gang of judges will rate their
scores from 1 to 10. The highest you can get is 70. The countries are:
Argentina, India, Russia, South Africa, China, Ireland, Australia and of
course, the USA. Here are your judges:
ARGENTINA-Maria Pogee
INDIA-Shirish Dayal
AUSTRAILIA-Kelly Abbey
SOUTH AFRICA-Harold Van Buuren
USA-Tony Selsnick
IRELAND-Daire Nolan
RUSSIA-Mikhail Smirnov
CHINA-Master Haiyang Wang
Now we gotten that out of the way, let's get to it. Team Ireland will
start things off with some fine riverdancing. All were in unison and
their leader Niall broke it down solo. To the scoreboard:
ARG-10
IND-9
AUS-9
S. AFR-9
USA-10
RUS-9
CHI-9
Ireland, obviously can't score themselves, so it'll be a score of 65 and
we're off to a good start. Next for USA in the solo category, you
already know Robert Muraine from the finale of "So You Think You Can
Dance" 4. Now here he is doing arm techniques and went to the floor on a
backwards bend. Let's leap forward into the scoreboard:
ARG-8
IND-7
AUS-9
S. AFR-9
IRE-8
RUS-8
CHI-8
And that'll give Team USA a 57 and 2nd place. Next up for Argentina,
Tierra del Fuego alias Carolina. She starts dancing on an old chair and
got incredibly sexy. Somehow, Bettie Page is smiling in heaven. But
then, she gets more looser than Sasha Fierce. To the scoreboard faster.
IND-8
AUS-8
S. AFR-7
USA-9
IRE-9
RUS-9
CHI-8
A 58 for Argentina gives them 2nd place. Russia will go next and Anya &
Pascha from SYTYCD 2 go at it. I'll tell you, it got fiercer than it was
in auditions. Let's get the score:
ARG-8
IND-9
AUS-9
S. AFR-9
USA-10
IRE-10
CHI-9
That 64 gives them 2nd place for Russia in a hurry. For India, in the
duet category, "Nishi" Mushi and Sangrita Sangal are up. It involved
reading a note, but hey, it's a Bollywood dance. On to the scoreboard:
ARG-9
AUS-7
S. AFR-6....WHAT?
USA-7
IRE-7
RUS-8
CHI-7
That 51 will send them down to the basement. Australia is up and former
Tap Dog Sean Robinson gets ready. And he does it in shorts....which
hurts to watch. Did it hurt the judges scores?
ARG-9
IND-8
S. AFR-8
USA-8
IRE-8
RUS-8
CHI-8
A 57 gives them a 2nd place tie in the solo category, but slips to 4th
on the master board. Next, China will be up and Bei Zing does a
traditional folk dance. She uses arms as ribbons. No sticks allowed.
Wonderful prowess here! And the scoreboard says:
ARG-8
IND-7
AUS-7
S. AFR-7
USA-8
IRE-7
RUS-7
A 51 in the solo gives them way last with India. We have South Africa up
and some Gumboot dancers known as Umoja stand in with trash cans and
miner hats....actually, flashlight scarves and they did it like a
college fraternity. Boy, they are crazy, but did the judges make noise?
ARG-8
IND-8
AUS-9
USA-8
IRE-8
RUS-8
CHI-8
A 57 in group gives them a 3-way tie for 4th.
SECOND HALF
Starting the half off is Australia doing group. 2 start out, and 2 more
come. 2 men are at it solo and more dancers came and 1 woman does solo.
She joins him for a moment and 3 men dance now. 1 girl does solo and all
4 dance, which is 3 women and 1 man. All come back to finish. How did it
go?
ARG-9
IND-8
S. AFR-9
USA-8
IRE-7
RUS-8
CHI-8
A 57 in group gives them 2nd place, but 114 overall gives them the lead.
Next up, Ireland's own Damien O' Kane....which is the first name of
TRL's male host, a Bad Boy girl group's last name and the band member's
last name who belongs to Aubrey. Boy, i'm good at name dropping.
Anyways, he does an Irish jig, and I'm not going to explain it, but I'll
say..."Wow." Scoreboard....
ARG-9
IND-9
AUS-8
S. AFR-7
USA-8
RUS-8
CHI-9
A 58 in solo ties the top, but overall, a 123 takes the lead very
quickly. Sduduzo Ka-Mbili....we're not making it up, folks, does flips,
a jump split, a bird gesture, high kicks and other stuff. Can you
believe he drank too much caffeine for this? On to the scoreboard:
ARG-8
IND-8
AUS-7
USA-9
IRE-7
RUS-8
CHI-8
a 55 in solo adds up to 112 and 3rd place overall. Next, Georgia Ambrion
and Eric Luna from the USA does some rumba stuff. It was very flexible
and a balancing act to add to it. DWTS, take some notes please. To the
scoreboard:
ARG-7
IND-9
AUS-7
S. AFR-7
IRE-10
RUS-9
CHI-8
A 57 in duet gives them 2nd, but 2nd is the word with a 114 tie.
Argentina's up and Miriam & Leonardo have a tango that brought romance.
On to the scoreboard:
IND-9
AUS-9
S. AFR-10
USA-10
IRE-9
RUS-9
CHI-9
2 65's and it's a 130 with a share from Ireland. Julia Banther from
Russia is up and she does contemporary. It was a load of shaking and
grooving throughout. Scoreboard, please?
ARG-7
IND-7
AUS-7
S. AFR-7
USA-7
IRE-8
CHI-7
a 50 in solo gives them 114......and it's a tie for 2nd. "Sweet"
Amarpali Ambegaokar dances for India, and look, she has bells round her
ankles. Mute button anyone? However, she did some great spinning towards
the end. We spin ahead to the judges.
ARG-9
AUS-9
S. AFR-8
USA-9
IRE-9
RUS-9
CHI-9
a 62 adds up to 113 and a boost to 3rd place overall. And finally, China
has 12 Shaolin monks not from New York, but here. A jump over a rolling
monk is a highlight, while 1 boy does a flip over. Even another gets
kicked in the rear. Yikes! 5 men have sticks to play with and even 1 guy
hangs on spears. Talk about execution. Last time, numbers....
ARG-9
IND-9
AUS-10
S. AFR-10
USA-10
IRE-9
RUS-9
A 66 in group gives them 117 and 2nd place overall.
That is all the dancing we ran out of. All the vacuums, dustpans and
brooms will be working overtime. To recap, South Africa has 112, India
has 113 and 114 goes to Russia, USA and India, while China has 117, but
the clear leaders are Argentina & Ireland with 123. Tomorrow...more
dancing...and that's it. But there can only be one....Superstar of
Dance! |