First - 
Whoa! Is Mia Michaels leaving SYTYCD?! I just came across this on EW.com:
If you’re as staunch a So You Think You Can Dance fan as I am, you’ve heard the news by now: Mia Michaels took her her Twitter to maybe-sort of announce that she will be leaving the show. (Fox had no comment.) Shock and awe, right?
Yes, it is surprising news. Yes, if true, she certainly will be missed. Yet I can’t help but think that SYTYCD would do just fine without the contemporary choreographer. Don’t get me wrong: Mia’s bench dance remains one of the most beautiful routines ever to grace the small screen. And there are other SYTYCD choreographers I’d much rather see part ways with the show. (Cough, Tyce! Cough!) But Mia seemed to have been missing her spark over the past year. Take her top two numbers from last season: Randi and Evan’s butt dance was undeniably cute, but it lacked that certain substance that the choreographer is famous for incorporating into her numbers. And I’d argue that it was Kayla and Küpono’s performance that elevated the addiction dance to great heights, rather than the actual dance in itself.
Couple that with the fact that plenty of viewers were turned off by her anti-Brandon attitude last season — which seemed to be a ploy for airtime — and I’d wager that a good number of SYTYCD fans will be happy to wave goodbye to the choreographer. But, at the same time, perhaps she’ll be missed even more precisely for this reason. Love her or hate her, a polarizing force on any show is a good way to draw viewers in. And, as my colleague and fellow SYTYCD junkie Adam B. Vary notes, the show’s contestants feed off of Mia’s passion (and many have auditioned purely for the chance to work with the choreographer): “I’d put Wade Robson in her company if he was anywhere near as prolific as her, and more importantly, I think the dancers on the show look forward to the chance of working with her more than anyone else,” Adam said earlier today.
But SYTYCD boasts enough stellar choreographers to make up for the possible absence of Mia. Wade, though he doesn’t choreograph nearly as often as Mia, consistently delivers fun numbers that still manage to be water cooler fodder. (”Ruby Blue,” anyone?) Sonya Tayeh boasts the quirkiness of Mia, without all the drama. And Shane Sparks and NapTab always help dancers illuminate the stage. But if the show is looking for another contemporary choreographer to fill Mia’s void — I’m not always totally behind Mandy Moore’s routines — they’ve got plenty to choose from. Why not hire Canadian choreographer Stacey Tookey? Or heck, even season 2 alum Travis Wall, the most appropriate replacement for Mia.
Either way, Mia’s exit would definitely shake up the show. But tell me, PopWatchers, do you think that’s a good or bad thing?
I agree with the writer's pal Adam - Mia Michaels is a definite favorite of the dancers whether or not her recent routines have been as awesome as her previous ones. To lose her would definitely impact the dancers, I think (though I don't think it will dissuade people from auditioning). Plus, I liked her stuff. Wade Robson's stuff just turns. me. off. He is a little too woo-woo out there for me! But hiring Travis as a replacement - which I do not see happening - would be awesome! Love that guy.
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Robert will appreciate this; he's been lamenting the absence of Nina and Michael on PR for weeks now! Me? I don't mind a missing Nina - but I have missed Michael Kors' snark. :o) Looks like the move to L.A. wasn't such a hot idea... and it sounds like everything's back in NY for season 11.
If you’ve been watching Project Runway this season, you know that the judging has been — ahem — problematic, due to the inexcusably long absences of judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, a.k.a. Señora Don’t Bore Me and Sir Quips A Lot. Frau Klum did her best anchoring the Runway ship by herself all those weeks, but she can’t do it alone. Nor should she have to! Without the continuity of perspective that the regular judging trio offers week after week, the show suffered…big time. Need I remind you of some of this season’s most egregious judging atrocities? Ra’mon went home, Nicolas won a challenge, Logan’s crappy pants got a pass, and Epperson got the Oktoberfest boot. Not. Acceptable. But at long last, Nina’s back tonight — and she’s here for the rest of the season, folks! In honor of her return, the irreplaceable Marie Claire editor (pictured on the show) chatted with us about the problematic judging … and how one designer’s auf’ing broke her heart.
Entertainment Weekly: We’ve all been missing you terribly this season. Where have you been for the past five weeks?
Nina Garcia: Oh! Well, thank you for missing me! It’s surprising — I didn’t really think it was going to be noticeable. You know, when the move to L.A. happened, the [production] dates changed. We usually film in June in New York. Michael is around and so am I. But this time they filmed end of September, beginning of October — the months when the fashion shows happen in New York, Milan, and Paris. I had to go do my job as an editor and cover the shows, so that’s where I was. It was really out of my control. And I can’t change my life entirely. I have another job, and Michael has a business, which is even more serious. It’s unfortunate, but it was just timing.
EW: There is a consensus among fans that your absence, as well as Michael’s, has hurt the show. What do you think?
NG: I think that we make a really good team: Heidi, Michael, and myself. We have a really good rapport in terms of deliberating. And perhaps that’s what is missing. And we all bring different things to the table. It’s a combination of personalities that works.
EW: Okay, let’s talk about the judging. I personally can’t believe that you would have allowed Nicolas to win the movie genre challenge with his Ice Queen costume—
NG: [Laughs]
EW: Or that you would have sent Ra’mon home.
NG: Oh, Ra’mon! That upset me. Cause I thought Ra’mon was very talented. He was one of my favorites, actually. When I came back from Europe, he was the first person I was looking forward to seeing. And when I didn’t see him, I was like, [outraged] “Who ousted Ra’mon?! Who did it?! Who killed Ra’mon?!” [laughs] You get attached to some of them. You can’t help it. And that’s the problem with having so many people [filling in on] the show. When you’re there all the time, you know what’s consistent. I know what Ra’mon has shown before. I have it in the back of my mind. Even if he has a bad challenge, I know what he’s capable of. But when I’m disconnected for a few weeks, it’s harder for me to connect with the history of what he is doing. And the same goes for the judge that comes in. They’re really judging them on that particular date.
EW: The lack of continuity has been hard for the designers. It puts them at a disadvantage, I think.
NG: Right. Yeah, I agree. I do agree with that. The only person that has been consistent is Heidi.
EW: You laughed when I mentioned Nicolas’ Ice Queen outfit. So, would you have put that thing through?
NG: [Laughs] I can’t comment because it’s somebody else’s decision. It’s done. But yeah, I would have done things differently. Some things would have been different.
EW: Are you going to tell me which ones?
NG: [Laughs] No.
EW: What about Epperson? Another controversial elimination!
NG: Oh…I do agree with the decision to eliminate him.
EW: Even over Logan’s hideous pants?
NG: Ah… Well, you see, I don’t know. [Laughs] You know… that’s hard. Yes, maybe not over Logan. I wasn’t there and I saw it on video, but it’s not the same as when you experience it sitting there in person.
EW: Moving forward into future seasons, will you try to make a point to be there as much as possible?
NG: Yes, yes. Moving forward, it’s back to New York and we’re all there. And we’re all happy to be there! We’ve finished season seven.
EW: And you don’t have any long stretches of absences?
NG: No, none of us! We’re all there the entire time. We’re all there. Nobody missed anything. Nobody was even sick. Nothing!
