Disney's Tangled: New Trailer

Disney is giving its roots a modern twist! They're taking the traditional fairytale of Rapunzel and giving it the Disney makeover, but it will be in the 3D. Set to be released on November 24, it stars the vocal talents of Zachary Levi (Chuck!) and Mandy Moore. While there's no musical numbers in the trailer, I believe this will be a musical similar to Princess & The Frog.

Watch the trailer below:

So You Think You Can Dance: Season 7 Top 11 Revealed!

Last night marked the end of auditions and revealed the Top 11 for this season of So You Think You Can Dance. With narrowing it down to only a Top 11 instead of a Top 20, there weren't that many underdogs let in to the competition. Also, it definitely diminished the variety with only 1 ballet, 1 tap, 1 ballroom, 1 hiphop, and 7 contemporary/jazz dancers. I know contemporary and jazz are different, but to me they are too similar to distinguish and have very similar fundamentals and training.

Below are the top 11...

Alexie Agdeppa, 26, Rowland Heights, CA - Jazz
Billy Bell, 20, Palm Beach, FL - Contemporary
Kent Boyd, 18, Wapakoneta, OH - Contemporary
Lauren Froderman, 18, Phoenix, AZ - Contemporary Jazz
Ashley Galvan, 19, Burbank, CA - Contemporary
Robert Roldan, 19, North Hollywood, CA - Contemporary
Jose Ruiz, 21, Miami, FL - Breaking
Ana 'Cristina' Santana, 24, San Diego, CA - Salsa
Melinda Sullivan, 22, Culver City, CA - Tap
Adechike Torbert, 23, Queens, NY - Contemporary
Alex Wong, 23, Miami, FL - Ballet

Are you surprised by any of the choices?

I'm sad that Anthony (contempoary, NYC) didn't make it over Adechike. Adechike was on thin ice in Vegas while Anthony looked like a man among boys, as Nigel said. I hope he comes back next season with a 100% healthy hamstring. I'm sure he'll blow the judges away when he's able to perform at his best.

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist Episode 1 Recap

Bravo’s latest show, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, gathers 14 promising artists to New York City to try to find the next great artist through 10 challenges and shows. The winner gets a $100,000 prize and a solo show at Brooklyn’s Museum of Art. China Chow, model and art collector, hosts with the help of Simon Du Pury stepping into a similar role of Tim Gunn on Project Runway.

The artists cover all types from painters, architect, sculptors, etc. ranging from small town kids like Abdi to seasoned artists who have been on the scene for years, like Nao and Judith. Each artist had to submit a self-portrait, which also tied into the first challenge. After sizing up the competition, they have to work in pairs to create portraits of each other. The trick of a good portrait is to capture their inner spirit, not just their likeness.

But before they get started, Sarah Jessica Parker, Executive Producer, popped in for a visit! I usually associate her with fashion, not art, but apparently she is very involved in art collecting.

While some pairings actually sat down and talked through the project, others took a cursory glance at their partner and their partner’s self-portrait and went straight to work. Miles and Nao took this approach and it proved to work better for one than the other. Already, Nao is the biggest personality on this show. She said herself that she may be “too big for this show” given her previous experience in the art world and her attitude does not lend well to judging or challenges. Miles felt “the only way to get a handle on her was to her make her dead” with death portraiture. While an old subgenre of photography, he put a modern twist on it with his silk screening.

Other notable pairings were Mark and Erik, Amanda and Jamie Lynn, and Abdi and Ryan. Mark produced a great photograph that showed Erik’s fun and aggressive side. Erik however, couldn’t stay at the same level as the more trained artists with a creepy easel of Mark as a clown. Amanda took the portrait assignment to a too abstract level, while Abdi and Ryan produced fantastic realistic paintings. Abdi’s especially captured Ryan’s essence.

After all the portraits are displayed, we meet the permanent panel of judges, which include Jerry Saltz (senior art critic for NY Mag), Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn (art adviser/gallerist), and Bill Powers (co-owner of Half-Gallery).

Abdi, Eric, Amanda, Mark, Miles, and Nao are called out by the judges. They’ve called the best and the worst of the group to explain more about their work. Nao is too cocky for her own good and doesn’t really take in any of the judge’s comments on her work.

The judges put Miles, Abdi, and Mark at the top this week. After deliberating, the judges decide that Miles gets immunity and cannot be eliminated this week.

Nao, Erik, and Amanda are in the bottom and one will be going home already. Ultimately, Amanda’s piece was too abstract to work as a portrait and she’s the first to leave the show.

Tune in next week when Erik explodes and the artists try to shock the audience. Work of Art airs on Bravo every Wednesday at 10 pm EST/PST.
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I originally wrote this for another site, but due to a miscommunication the show was already recapped by someone else. So here's my recap of last night's episode, just so that work wasn't for nothing. I'm not planning on recapping it regularly, but if there's an interest in it I might.

If you watched the show, let me know what you think of the portraits in the comments!

Glee: The “Journey” is Over

Last night was the last episode of Glee until Fall (and I already miss it!). And while the season has had its ups and downs on the road to Regionals, it definitely ended on a high note.

The show moved at such a fast pace, I thought I had missed something. We get a few minutes leading up to Regionals, when we find out the dreaded Sue Sylvester will be one of the “celebrity” judges, and then suddenly we’re there!

The Journey medley was fantastic and I loved the Finn/Rachel moment just before they started singing. I don’t think it made sense for them to be together so soon after the egging incident; I would think Rachel would have trust issues for a while, but I guess this is a light-hearted show that doesn’t want to get bogged down with reality.

Vocal Adrenaline’s Bohemian Rhapsody was fantastic, but soulless just as New Directions said it would. The ballet dancing and piano interludes didn’t really work for me, but maybe that might be because I don’t think anyone can do Bohemian Rhapsody as well as Freddie Mercury did. I loved the intercutting of Quinn’s labor with it, even thought that must have been the fastest birth in history for the glee kids to make it back for the award announcements.

I’m glad the pregnancy and Shelby’s storylines are wrapped, I wasn’t too pleased with either throughout the season and now the writers can start fresh for season 2.

While sad that New Directions didn’t place, it wouldn’t have made sense for them to win it against Vocal Adrenaline’s performance since theirs had such more complicated staging, choreography, and was just overall a better production. The singing of both groups was amazing, thanks to those broadway trained voices, so when it comes down to spectacle, Vocal Adrenaline had it in the bag. I just wish we had seen some of Aural Intensity’s performance to know if they truly deserved to beat out our favorite Glee kids.

The reveal of Sue being a big ole softie was cute, but a little out of nowhere. With this and last week’s sudden infatuation with Will, it seems the writers are just trying to use her wherever they can because she’s such a fan favorite.

The celebrity judges were too cartoony for me, but I guess they had to be in order to push Sue to do the right thing and vote for New Directions. I was surprised there wouldn’t be a conflict of interest reason for her not to be a judge, since she works at a school that is competing. Oh well, trivial matter that I can get over it.

After the loss to Vocal Adrenaline, Glee had some tearjerker moments with the serenade to Mr. Shue with “To Sir, With Love.” At the heart of the show, beneath the showy numbers and ridiculous love/pregnancy plotlines, it’s all about finding who you are through the arts. Without Mr. Shue believing in these kids, there would be no glee club and therefore no friendship between this group of misfits.

And now we get to enjoy them struggle through sectionals and regionals all over again. Sue said that she'll "relish the thought of another full year of constantly besting" Will and the Glee clubbers, and I'll be watching it every week. 

Overall, it was a great ending to a solid season. While the show started out fantastic and then faltered, it was able to regain its footing in the end.

Random odds and ends:

• My favorite quote: "Your hair looks like a briar patch. I keep expecting racist animated disney characters to pop up and start singing about the Bayou."
• I would totally read Sue’s book “I'm a Winner and You're Fat.” Apparently Glee is releasing tie-in books this summer, please let this be one of them! “I’m a Winner and You’re Fat” and “Sue’s Diary” make so much sense as releases than the prequel that they announced. 
• My favorite musical number from the night was, of course, the Journey medley! Watch it again below: 

What did you think of the finale? Or the season a whole? Let me know in the comments!

America’s Got Talent: Fighting Gravity

I don’t normally watch America’s Got Talent. I feel like it’s an unnecessary reality show (redundant phrase?) given the current landscape with American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and America’s Best Dance Crew. Many of the finalists for this show are usually singers or dancers, and there’s just too much of an overlap in talent for me to care about this show as much as the others.

But every once in a while, there’s an audition that makes the show seem worth it. This act, Fighting Gravity, wouldn’t work on any other reality show because it is so niche. It doesn’t quite fit into the dancing mold that would put it on shows like America’s Best Dance Crew. A group of fraternity brothers who spend their days studying Business or Engineering, came up with a great routine involving black light and suspended tennis balls. I wonder if this is an act they would bust out at their frat parties to lure in the ladies? Check out the routine below: