'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: Watching That Was Like Watching Paint Dry

Again, sorry for the delay. Check out my recap of the Boston "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions on the City entertainment blog here.

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: The Aliens Have Landed

Sorry for the delay, folks. I meant to post a link to my recap of Wednesday's episode of 'So You Think You Can Dance' a few days ago, but alas, my computer bit the dust (temporarily). I'm sure all my loyal readers out there (Mom, Dad ... yeah, that's probably about it) have been dying of anticipation for my recap, so here it is. Enjoy!

RIP: Patrick Swayze

Actor Patrick Swayze died today after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, according to the Associated Press. He was 57 years old.

Swayze, best known for his portrayal of bad-boy Johnny Castle in the '80s coming-of-age flick "Dirty Dancing", announced in March 2008 he had one of the more deadly cancers. The one-years survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 20 percent, and the five-year survival rate is only about 4 percent.

Swayze earned three Golden Globe nominations, for "Dirty Dancing" (1987), "Ghost" (1990) and 1995's "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar." Those three movies alone exemplify something few probably think of when they think of Swayze: his versatility. He wasn't afraid to play the sensitive guy in "Ghost", the dancing bad boy with a heart of gold in "Dirty Dancing" (come on, who didn't fall in love with him in that movie?) or even a drag queen in "To Wong Foo". He shocked the hell out of critics and audiences alike with that last choice in particular, but managed to pull it off in a surprisingly entertaining comedy.

Though I was born the year after "Dirty Dancing" was released, I've watched it more times than I can count and loved his performance. His dancing was just outstanding — masculine, controlled and technically brilliant. It's not surprising, considering his mother is famed choreographer Patsy Swayze.

Swayze was an avid conservationist off-screen, who was deeply moved by time spent in Africa.

Though I'm sure we all knew his death was inevitable (even Swayze himself addressed his mortality in television appearances this past year), it's still sad to lose such a talented actor, phenomenal dancer and beautiful spirit. He will truly be missed.

Empty Chairs, Full Hearts

Last week there was a story in the Ithaca Journal about a new art exhibit here in Ithaca being put on by the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service of Tompkins County that caught my eye. The idea of the "Empty Chairs Project: Loss After Suicide" was to have artists who have lost a friend or family member to suicide create chairs to honor their memories.

I thought the impact of the story would be much more powerful in an audio slideshow than print, but I'll let you be the judge. Here's the link to the final version.

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: The Year of the Tappers

So even though I left City newspaper a few weeks ago (tear!) to come back to school, I'll still be blogging for them throughout the year. First up was a familiar topic: "So You Think You Can Dance"! The show kicked off its sixth season last night and, for the first time, will be airing during the fall. Here's my recap of the first audition episode. Enjoy!