Fan Fare

SYTYCD shake-up to hurt some, help others

They came, they danced and the judges were almost too positive, especially since two more dancers will be sent packing from So You Think You Can Dance tomorrow, leaving only the all important Top 10, who are expected to go on tour in 2010.

For the dancers who remain after Wednesday night’s elimination, next week will bring new styles and a new partner. So who will the shake-up help and who will it hurt?

Topping the list of those who may feel the squeeze is Ashleigh Di Lello. Last week, we speculated that without her partner Jakob Carr, Ashleigh may find herself in trouble. Jakob‘s strength was certainly evident in their first number, with judge Adam Shankman saying the only flaw was his pants. But Ashleigh got high praises after their second number, a cha-cha, with judge Nigel Lythgoe again saying that those who questioned her abilities in Vegas were eating their words.

“That may have been a cha-cha, but you are waltzing through to the top 10,” said Nigel of the performance.

Mollee Gray may also find herself in a bad place when her partnership with Nathan Trasoras breaks up. The couple seem to have been buoyed by Nathan’s popularity and Mollee may not fare so well with voters on her own. But a more mature partner could prove to give her the push to make it through to the top 4.

Meanwhile, if Karen Hauer makes it through the elimination, she will need to connect with one of the stronger men if she hopes to survive another week. A fresh partner may also prove the right move for Noelle Marsh, who has done well with Russell Ferguson, but may shine with someone else.

As for who will be headed home this week, expect to see Karen and partner Victor Smalley among the bottom three couples. As for the rest – it really is anyone’s game right now.

Will Katie Price be missed in Celebrity jungle?

Katie Price, aka Jordan, has walked out of “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!” after the glamour model, celebrity and author was nominated by the public for a seventh “Bushtucker” (read creepy-crawly munch) trial in a row.

It would appear that her recent acrimonious divorce from singer Peter Andre, whom, ironically, she met on an earlier series of the reality TV show, has done little for her standing in the eyes of the British public. Some commentators think the 31-year-old should have seen this coming.

Her departure leaves the show without its most high-profile and headline-generating contestant. That makes it two after Irish twins John and Edward Grimes were voted off the X Factor singing contest last night. ITV will be watching closely to see if the exits translate to lower viewing figures for two of its biggest shows.

Hip-hop and contemporary miss out on So You Think You Can Dance

Wednesday’s So You Think You Can Dance results show opened with a trademark Wade and Amanda Robson group number that drew an enthusiastic response from the judges and audience alike, but it wasn’t long before everyone got down to unpleasant business. There were some small surprises and the judges were unanimous in their decisions.

Karen Hauer and Kevin Hunte‘s Broadway routine disappointed judges on Tuesday and was the only dark spot of the evening, so it was no surprise the pair found themselves dancing for their lives.

Victor Smalley and Channing Cooke executed a strong Tyce Diorio jazz number, but viewers may have agreed with judge Adam Shankman who found the Bobby McFerrin song choice detracted him from connecting with the performance.

Mollee Gray and Nathan Trasoras were back in the game after last week’s disastrous salsa, so it came as a surprise their pop-jazz dance put them among the bottom three couples. Judge Nigel Lythgoe, who called on Nathan to live up to his potential as “one of the best dancers” they’ve ever had on the show, speculated that their poor showing may have been backlash from last week.

In the end, the judges whittled it down to personality and growth.

Channing always performed under the radar and this week, her technical strength could not outshine the personality and charisma the judges saw in Karen.

Kevin, who often found himself standing in Karen’s shadows as well, could not hide his awkwardness with other dance genres from the judges. In the end, his lack of growth relative to Victor’s cut his competition short.

Will the Di Lello husband and wife team make Top 10 on SYTYCD?

After placing in the bottom three couples last week, Ashleigh’s husband Ryan and his partner Ellenore Scott were given a second chance and had the other standout routine of the evening, a beautiful contemporary number choreographed by season 2 contestant, Travis Wall. For a few moments, the judges almost forgot this was a dance show as they raved about Travis’ choreography work on SYTYCD. They were equally enthusiastic about the dancers, calling Ryan “the best ballroom dancer that has ever done contemporary.”

“I am pretty sure right now, you are going to end up with your wife in the top 10″, Adam said.

Do you agree? Who’s time is up and who will survive one step closer to the top 10?

Join us live on Twitter @Reuters_Fanfare for the east coast airing of the show.

(Top) Ashleigh Di Lello (L) and Jakob Karr (R) perform a Hip Hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo. © 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Mathieu Young/FOX

(Bottom) Ryan Di Lello (L) and Ellenore Scott (R) perform a Contemporary routine choreographed by Travis Wall. © 2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Mathieu Young/FOX

So You Think You Can Dance taps out to top 16

The top 18 dancers sashayed straight into competition — and eliminations — on Tuesday’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance.

The two-hour long show was the final round to be decided entirely by the panel of three judges before voting is handed back over to viewers on November 10.

It was a packed show, with all nine couples performing ahead of the same-day elimination.

The night started off with Noelle Marsh, freshly recovered from an injury that kept her out of the competition last week, and partner Russell Ferguson in a tennis-inspired hip-hop battle.

The routine, choreographed by first-time contributor Jamal Sims, was fast-paced, but fell short for all three judges.

“It was just so fast that I think you really didn’t get a hold of it,” said judge Nigel Lythgoe, adding that he found the routine disappointing.

Ashleigh Di Lello and Jakob Carr were up next with a Viennese Waltz that prompted judge Adam Shankman to gush, “I am madly in love with you guys.”

So You Think You Can Dance kicks off with illness and injury

Summer staple So You Think You Can Dance has transitioned into fall, with a new title treatment, a new permanent judge and 20 new dancers.

Before facing the ax on Tuesday, dancers showcased their talent in a pre-competition performance episode on Monday. The episode included one of the show’s best ever opening group numbers, a stylish production choreographed by Wade Robson.

Tuesday, however, was off to a rough start with Julliard dancer Billy Bell, one of this season’s most promising contemporary dancers, pulling out of the competition due to illness. SYTYCD choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon wrote on Twitter that he has mono, while his family issued a statement to SYTYCDism saying that “doctors told the show that if he continued to dance on the show before he recovered, he could possibly die.”

He was replaced by hip-hop dancer Brandon Dumlao, who only had a day and a half to prepare a smooth waltz with Pauline Mata.

“I just watched myself get cut last night and now I’m back,” he said in a taped segment.

Meanwhile, Noelle Marsh suffered an injury and had to stay off her feet this week. If she still can’t compete next week, she will be cut.

Her partner, krumper Russell Ferguson, paired up with co-choreographer Melanie LaPatin instead for the foxtrot.

So You Think You Can Dance picks their top 20

And while Mason and the rest of the top 10 are still in the middle of their North American tour, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe and his panel of judges have already whittled down the thousands of hopefuls to pick their top 20 dancers in Wednesday’s Green Mile episode.

Eight of the finalists are contemporary dancers, including Nathan Trasoras, who auditioned for season 5, but wasn’t old enough at that point, so was given a ticket to the season 6 Vegas week. Julliard student Billy Bell — who brought this season’s new permanent judge Adam Shankman to tears — also made it through. As did Jakob Karr, a close friend of reigning champ Mason.

Rounding out the contemporary crew are Kathryn McCormick, Channing Cooke, Ariana DeBose, Victor Smalley and Noelle Marsh.

Three jazz dancers made the cut: The bubbly Mollee Gray, who was told she danced more “like a 14 or 15-year-old” in terms of maturity, but whom the judges loved anyway; Pauline Mata, who grotesquely injured her ankle near the end of Vegas week and missed the final rounds; and Ellenore Scott (who also dances contemporary).

Karen Hauer, and husband and wife team Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello were the three ballroom competitors waltzing into the top 20.

Ashleigh was the last girl to be chosen — but she almost didn’t make the cut. The spot was originally offered to Paula Van Oppen, a stunning contemporary dancer and judges’ favorite, who tearfully turned down the opportunity because she had decided to accept a movie offer instead.

Jonathan “Legacy” Perez, considered by the judges to be one of the best b-boys ever to audition, is joined by hip-hop dancer Kevin Hunte. Last, but definitely not least, Russell Ferguson breezed through Vegas auditions with ease to become the first ever krumper to make it into the top 20.

Audrina Patridge talks about new slasher film “Sorority Row”

Hollywood starlet and tabloid favorite Audrina Patridge takes to the big screen in horror movie “Sorority Row,” which opens September 11.

She plays a sorority girl who ends up being the victim of a prank gone wrong — which later sparks a killing spree at the sorority.

She talked with Reuters about the film and her upcoming reality TV show on MTV, which you can read here.

In the video below, she shares what her favorite horror movies are, talks about her character in “Sorority Row” and dishes on bonding with her fellow castmates.

It turns out, Patridge said, that on the set there was none of the cattiness that colors “The Hills,” the top-rated reality series on MTV that made her a celebrity. Click below to watch the video.

Big Brother – will you miss it?

So farewell, Big Brother. You have been on British screens every year for the last decade, but 2010 will be your last, unless someone else can be persuaded to pay production company Endemol for a show that has seen its ratings slump.

Channel 4 announced it is ditching the reality TV series, which in its prime enjoyed audiences as big as 10 million Britons but now is viewed by less than two million. Some pundits say it is tired and dull. Others say it never recovered from the 2007 race row when Jade Goody was accused of bullying Indian housemate Shilpa Shetty, prompting tens of thousands of complaints. Justice was seen to be done when Goody was evicted and Shetty went on to win.

Endemol, which makes Big Brother, has not given up just yet, and may seek another broadcaster to buy its ground-breaking show.

Whether the ratings slump is part of a broader disenchantment with reality TV remains to be seen. Certainly talent shows, from Strictly Come Dancing to Britain’s Got Talent, continue to thrive in. But as for Big Brother, will you miss it? Has it passed its sell-by date? Is Channel 4 right to ditch it?

Octomom show — repulsive or sympathetic?

Is the public fascination with California’s Octomom running out of steam?.

A two-hour TV special on single mom Nadya Suleman’s life with her eight new babies and six other young children was watched by just 4.1 million American viewers on Wednesday night, while more than double that (10.3 million) tuned in to see the latest episode of “America’s Got Talent.”

Suleman, 33, has garnered wall-to-wall media coverage since giving birth to octuplets in January and the show compiled video footage approved by her not just of her chaotic life at home and with the paparazzi, but also film shot inside the hospital delivery room.

The Fox TV special appeared to have made few new friends for Suleman and her (mostly) screaming brood. Entertainment Weekly called it a “repulsively grim two hours of TV” while the New York Times said it “failed to produce a second’s worth of contrarian evidence that Nadya Suleman isn’t a self-obsessed, publicity-driven lunatic.”

But the New York Daily News was slightly more forgiving, calling the program “an oddly fascinating look into the life of a woman who alternates between totally dysfunctional and easily sympathetic.”

Suleman herself admitted in the show that she “screwed up my life, I screwed up my kids’ lives”, adding, “I have to pretend like I don’t regret it. I can’t regret it now cause I love them, they’re here. But what was I thinking?”.