377 replies to this topic

[TWoP Dietrich]

"Wapokaneta".

[chesslover]

Dark horse!?

[ByTheWay]

Video > (KorbiTV) SYTYCD Top 11: Kent Boyd

[Unusual Suspect]

Kent, sweetie? Two words of warning: Nathan Trasoras.

[toothfairy]

I love Kent because he seems to me to really be a hard worker and tries to apply himself as much as possible. Pretty much the opposite from Nathan (or at least my perception of him) because Nathan came off as a spoiled brat to me, while Kent is possibly his own harshest critic.
I find that it moves me because I operate similarly and I was tearing up when he was speaking during the Vegas Broadway round, because I feel the same way. I get intimidated myself when I know I'm up and being compared against these supposedly superhuman beings. And I know that I sometimes mess things up when I am so critical and I get hurt when I want things so badly.

That and his earnestness is so catchy (like H1N1) that I can't help but smile at him. I hope we get to see him dance for many weeks to come.

[UncommonSense]

Kent, sweetie? Two words of warning: Nathan Trasoras.

Other than them both being "cute" young men I see no real similarity between them. Nathan was overhyped and pegged as a favorite due to the S5 audition process and ended up being short on maturity and personality. Kent is a pretty much the opposite, a no name until his audition and even then was more viewed as an "awww, isn't he cute" sort of dancer with no real shot at competing with the big boys until his Vegas contemporary. He also has a lot of charm and innate likability, something Nathan never really did.

[vallegirl]

I haven't watched any other season so I don't know Nathan, but while Kent as a person is very young and naive, his dancing looked far more sophisticated than his age. He has all the skills and a few years of living will round him out as a performer. I hope he does well, because there is something very moving about his dancing. No matter how goofy he may be when he isn't dancing.

[anothermi]

I was impressed with Kent's showing in the Travis dance. It's hard to get me to look at any other dancer when Mark is on the stage, but I did notice Kent from time to time and he was bringing the fierce!

[Unusual Suspect]

Other than them both being "cute" young men I see no real similarity between them.

Many it's a warning for Kent not to talk himself into trouble like Nathan did. His 11 second intro was cute ... but I was cringing over the discussion after his dance, and he needs to be careful when the judges start critiquing his dancing.

[allemand]

I have a feeling that a lot of dancers talked to the judges after their dances, but their comments didn't make it past the editors. It still could work that way on this episode because it was prerecorded, but as I understand it, the rest of the competition will air live, so there will be little opportunity to say anything unless the judges actually ask a question about something specific. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[ByTheWay]

Video > (Danceplug) SYTYCD Top 11 Interview: Kent Boyd

[vallegirl]

He's so cute. He's young and goofy yet wholly aware that he's young and goofy. Listening to him talk about dancing and the work and discipline involved just shows me there's some depth and even self-possession to him. He's a good egg.

Edited by vallegirl, Jun 12, 2010 @ 9:08 AM.

[NextIteration]

This kid is adorable, while I'll be enjoying Alex and Ade, I think I'll end up pulling for this young man.

[ByTheWay]

Video > (FOX) SYTYCD Top 11 Interview: Kent Boyd

[Toaster Strudel]

He is very likable indeed. I hope the show dials down the bumpkin edit, because that's not what he is at all.

He's a charismatic young man bursting with Joy. When he danced last night, a great deal of this Joy passed through my body.

He's a quick-thinking wit, too. Very charming.

[comosedice]

Kent is a very genuine type of person and has a good head on his shoulders for 18. He's becoming a pretty big deal in our NW Ohio area. Local TV stations are showing "Kent Boyd" updates on the news and during day-time promos.

I had a chance to interview him on my morning show... and he came through as a very like-able contestant. He talked about what he can teach LA, how he got lucky in line during the auditions, and a special message to his friends and family in the area. Check it out here.

Thank you for sharing this with us. Kent has my support and I do hope the people from his side of the world do rally around him and keep him in the competition. He's proven so far that he deserves to be there.

[splendourific]

I mentioned in the show thread, but I was at the taping yesterday and I couldn't believe the energy he exuded in that cha cha. I give Anya a lot of credit for helping him out with the steps, but I also saw her in Burn the Floor on Broadway and although she was way fierce in that, I totally enjoyed her performance with Kent a billion times more. The boy is just living sunshine, swear to god. Everybody in that room was smiling like a fool after he performed. He's an entertainer and I expect him to be lighting up that stage for weeks to come if that was any indication. There were two standing ovations in the audience last night, one after Alex and Allison's contemporary (no duh) and the other after Kent and Anya's cha cha.

I just can't wait to see what he does next.

[anothermi]

I was favourably impressed with Kent's Cha Cha. He seemed to have the hips movement! That made me LOL out of surprise. Too bad they chose the move that Nigel criticized for his recap-before-the-lines-open-move but at least I got to see what they were talking about as I hadn't noticed it. Of course that would have been due to not expecting that much from him and getting a LOT more than I expected.

[starsonboard]

1049TheEagle Thank you so much for sharing that interview with us and for asking us for questions. Kent seems like a sweetheart and he seems to be enjoying his experience so much.

Your label (just tuned in) seems to indicate that you are a newbie here. I wanted to let you know, in case you didn't realize it, that this forum has some real honest-to-goodness favorites from past seasons. The whole Grassy Knoll thread has grown because many of us here think that the producers have a real agenda as to what type of winner that they want in any given year. It appears that Kent may be safe as far as the producers go because he has a definite story arc. He fits the "If I can do it from my background, any one can."

If you look at the number of pages of posts of past contestants, Danny Tidwell is in the lead with 276. He appeared in a Season 3 when the previous two seasons had male winners. The whole agenda of Season 3 (mostly Nigel but the others follow suit) was "We need a girl winner." Their praise of Sabra and the edit they gave Danny (arrogant, entitled instead shy... hard background) rubbed many of us the wrong way. The same thing happened to Mark in Season 4. They wanted a hip-hop winner to win so badly that it appeared to many of us that they threw Mark Kaneumura under the bus when his praise became lukewarm (see the Hip Hop piece he did with Comfort, the Argentine tango he did with Chelsie, etc.) They either talked more about his partner, or dismissed his ability to dance in a different style that his specialty. His edit had Mia saying in the first week that she was disappointed in him (Probably could not do the leaps and pirouettes she had hoped to add to her Tim Burton wedding dance.) She did later appreciate him (put him front and center in her group piece) and the comments she gave to Courtney and Mark after the Garden showed how much she appreciated him. Mary Murphy seemed to have to follow Nigel's lead of downplaying Mark so they could have their hip hop winner. the styles of dance he had to do (Country 2 step) was another thing that led us to believe the show was manipulated.

So, many of the Kent questions have already been asked. He has been getting a fun edit and has come across as endearing to many of us. We already know the answers to the typical questions about his home life, background, city, did he ever see the tour, etc. Would you please consider asking him any of these for all of the rabid Mark fans on this board:

1. Did you ask Mark about working with Lady Ga Ga? Did he show you any of the dance moves?

2. Did Mark have any advice for you about how to audition for other jobs?

3. Did you get the "Have fun and enjoy every moment advice from Mark?" (Mark always said how he viewed the show as a Summer Dance Camp and he had the time of his life. Mark did not hesitate to come back.)

4. Were the rehearsals for the first Travis piece with Mark and Kathryn (and Lauren) fun or were they a lot of "we need to get this done as we don't have much time" sessions?

5. What other advice did the All Stars give you? ( Was it drink lots of water, ice your muscles, ....etc. etc.)




Other questions:
1. What is the most surprising thing that has happened to him in LA?
2. What was the most important thing he learned from Anya? Tony and Melanie?
3. Who intimidates him the most on the show of the judges, All Stars, choreographers, dance style, etc.
4. What was it like to work with Wade Robson?

Thanks for asking for our input. Enjoy the Season!

[vallegirl]

His unfiltered personality is a lot more grounded and clear-eyed about himself and how/why people respond to him. His exuberance is a reflection of his youth, but there's a lot of thoughtfulness beneath it.

He may laugh that people only respond to him because they think he's "cute" or "adorable" but he doesn't dance "cute" and that's probably his greatest advantage in the competition. He has a maturity to his dancing that is every bit as charismatic as his enthusiasm.

But I'm also biased because I think he's darling.

[NextIteration]

The boy is just living sunshine, swear to god.

I giggled like a fool through the whole piece, thought he was wonderful, so for some of us, this is translating through the teevee machine. :)

Yup, I'm pulling for this youngster, even though I love watching Alex and Robert.

[MiaPR]

I too, think Kent is adorable and cute. He is obviously a born entertainer. But, I also think he is a very talented dancer which takes him beyond cute and adorable. From youtubes I've seen, he can dance with emotion and feeling, and his body is meant to dance. I am looking forward to seeing how he dances other styles - when he gets Mia or someone with more serious choreography. From what I've seen I think he'll be able to pull that off also. I just hope they start giving him credit for his dancing ability and not just for how adorable he is.

And, that back bend he did at the end of the song - jeez - flexible body.

Edited by MiaPR, Jun 20, 2010 @ 12:46 PM.

[Toaster Strudel]

Kent reminds me of Russell; pure unadulterated sunshine flooding the stage.

I bet he can do serious, too. I'm willing to put money on it.

[vallegirl]

Here's a serious piece from a competition that I think gives a pretty good idea of just what Kent's capable of.

[MiaPR]

That was good vallegirl - thanks for posting. Better than the one I had watched - striped shirt. Agree it shows he can handle a serious piece. With the right choreographer and music I think he can really produce. He seems versatile enough to do Broadway or other styles - curious if he can pull of hip-hop. That may be the biggest challenge. But, he may surprise me there also as he did better in ballroom than I thought he would.

[westsideuhoh]

His technique is mediocre compared to the other male dancers in that competition. He almost fell off his centre coming out of a 540 in the "Meet the Top 11" Contemporary Jazz piece.

[MiaPR]

I'm not sure I would use the word mediocre but I fully agree he is not the best technician in the group - right now, anyway. He's young and has plenty of room to improve. I believe Kent has also stated this - that he wasn't professionally trained. Hence, the Alex "Freakin" Wong and Billy "Freakin" Bell. He himself, was in awe of them.

This show, however, doesn't seem to always reward the win to the one with the best technique. Performance seems to be an overriding factor from what I remember and in that category, IMO, Kent is ahead of the rest. But, I was also pleasantly surprised that he could dance as well as he did in ballroom. It was more than I thought he would produce.

As a lay person, I probably don't see what those in the business see. I just know whether or not I have been entertained. Some of my favorite pieces from the past are not from the best technicians - e.g. Ivan and Allison - Tyce/Annie Lennox piece. Neil and Sabra - Sweet Dreams performance and then most of what Legacy did fully entertained me.

So, I guess it comes down to personal taste and what you are looking for from this show. Kent entertained me. I have a feeling it might be a Kent/Alex F2. That would be interesting.

Still, I'm curious to see how all of the contemporary dancers will handle hip hop or Latin/Ballroom. It's just as hard for me to picture Billy or Alex doing hip-hop as it is for me to picture Kent doing it.

I think it's going to be a good season. I'm enjoying it so far.

Edited by MiaPR, Jun 21, 2010 @ 1:28 PM.

[NextIteration]

1049TheEagle - can you ask if he's done any summer intensives, or any other extended training out of studio beyond conventions?

[vallegirl]

I was wondering what school in NY he was planning on attending in the fall and if he still wants to go. Or even if he'll be able to attend school.

[martab]

MiaPR, you said he wasn't professionally trained. I'm confused about his training. I've read that he's been training since an early age, beginning with gymnastics at 4 and transitioning to dance quite young. In fact, I heard he's been training significantly longer than Billy Bell, who started late. I'd love to know the truth. I was completely won over by him initially. Then started to find him annoying. On the results show my annoyance lessened and now I'm just enjoying the ride.

Edited by martab, Jun 22, 2010 @ 10:47 AM.