The episode began with some of the cast members hanging around the Millennium Dance studio lounge, talking about the Gap commercial callbacks, that surprisingly, Blake didn't get. Or so he thought.
Later on in the episode we come to find that the Gap commercial artistic director decided to hire Blake on his first audition in LA, saying "he has character."
And my joke that Jersey is from New Jersey, was addressed at the beginning of the episode when Jersey herself commented on it after all the dancers mentioned something about it. "Yup, I'm Jersey from Jersey," she said in reply to Kenny saying that's why her parents named her that.
Another favorite moment for me at the beginning of the show (I'm telling you I really enjoyed this episode) was when they all decided to go back down to the dance class and Blake said "5,6,7,8, those are the words of our life."
As a dancer, his words couldn't have been more true. When getting ready to do a combination or start performing or getting ready to stretch, "5,6,7,8" is a term dance instructors and dancers use alike to give a warning as to when to start dancing. Because most music can be counted into "8 counts" with 8 beats (1-8), it is used almost always (except when music is in 6 counts).
So when I heard that, I laughed inside and thought of all the times I couldn't stop counting in my head, or said "5,6,7,8" when I taught a dance class.
So as I touched upon in last night' s blog, a personal perspective was given to Kenny.
Kenny, originally from Stoughton, MA went to NYC for the Gap commercial audition but didn't make it, luckily Nelly Furtado was performing on Saturday Night Live and had remembered him from dancing in her "Promiscuous" music video.
When he auditioned, Nelly called him "cute" and asked him over to her so she could talk to him. She also told her artistic director he had "classic, white boy hair" which was just a laugh moment that worked, making a hugely famous singer human for a minute, as if she were part of the cast too.
It seemed like a moment of hope, where one important person remembers something you gave her all to and you reap the benefits of that.
So he performed on SNL to the song "Maneater" which reminded me of my recent December performance with NUDANCO, where I choreographed a piece to "Maneater" good times. Kenny's supportive family watched his performance from Stoughton. And to Boston he came.
Living in Boston, and watching "Dancelife" which takes place in sunny sunny LA can make a person a little depressed. But once Kenny's car pulled into his parents driveway, and the Augustana song "Boston" played, it totally hit him.
A born and raised New Yorker, I have completely embraced living in Boston, and I truly love it.
But I had to laugh when Kenny found out in NYC that he got the SNL gig at a New York pizzeria, told the four or so men in the eatery that he was going to be on the show and that they should watch, said "go Red Sox" grabbed his pizza and bolted.
Laugh Out Loud kind of moment.
Back to Boston.
Kenny taught a hip hop class at his old dance school, Sherry Gold Dance Studios.
There were about 50 kids aged between 9 years old and 15 years old, and seeing a large group of kids dancing together is just something uplifting.
Honestly, I know I'm being cheesy but it is so true. That's why in the movie "Honey" loosely based on the life of Honey Rockwell, one of the original B-girls (break dance girls), has a super climactic and inspirational moment when all of the kids she teaches performs a choreographed dance.
As if that wasn't enough of a touching moment, I was pretty satisfied to hear Kenny's mom, Melanie ask if Kenny was "stahhhhhving" no R. Yup, that's how it is in Boston.
As for the other kids, Staci and Black got free clothes from the Gap commercial, watched Kenny's SNL performance and were truly happy for him from their New York hotel and Jersey cried as she tried to get in touch with her mom after finding out she didn't make the commercial.
I think a significant moment was when Staci and Blake were complimenting Kenny's performance as they watched it on television, making a camaraderie and respect for their equals apparent. Dancing in music videos and professionally is thought to be very very competitive and event catty. But I'm happy that the show is trying to manifest that these people love to dance, and are happy that others are living the same dream they are.
So as for next week's episode, make sure to check out the auditions for Ashlee Simpson and some up close and personal time with Celestina and her boyfriend problems.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment