Last night I went up for air and took a break from my busy sked, and what do I discover? So You Think You Can Dance on FOX, Wednesdays at 8pm.

I know, I know, this show is the dancing equivalent of American Idol and I’m not really the world’s biggest AI fan.

Anyway. At around 9pm yesterday I planted myself in front of the TV with a snack and was getting ready to watch an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ which we had recorded earlier. Before going into the list of recorded shows I checked on FOX, just to see what was going on in the world. On the TV screen was a couple of dancers doing a boring hip-hop routine, and predictably enough the judges were underwhelmed by their performance.

I was getting ready to dismiss the show and move on, when I saw an undeniably Pinoy face on the screen, which piqued my interest. Yes dears, I’m talking about Ryan Conferido, who hails from Downey, California. No, I don’t actually really know if he is Pinoy, but he sure does look like one (and I’m getting the vibes that he is, you know what I mean?)

Ryan Conferido photo

Ryan Conferido
he looks Pinoy, diba?
(photo from the Fox website)

I stayed to watch a few minutes, just to see how he’d do. And boy, was I impressed! This young man was, until recently, ‘just’ a breakdancer with a group called Six Step Crew. Tonight, he had proved himself a talented performer. He and his partner danced the mambo, and although at practise he kept apologizing when he fumbled the steps, he was simply amazing during the show. Good thing, because he had sacrificed his cute anime character-looking hair for a slicked-back panahon ng lolo ko ‘do more appropriate for the mambo routine. I think the image change (for this dance at least) was way worth it for him.

  • Check out Ryan’s impressive mambo with partner Melissa.
  • View an earlier episode where Ryan wowed one of the choreographers.

    (See the video clips at rickey.org, who is a purveyor of information about American Idol and the like.)

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  • Other interesting things in SYTYCD last night:
    - Blake McGrath did a very fascinating sinuous move on the dance floor…sexy! :-)
    - I also think Melody Lacayanga looks Pinoy (does anyone know if she or Ryan is one?)
    - Jonnis (Jonathan Tannis), who was in the bottom six, danced a fantastic number to the song “Bebot” by The Black-Eyed Peas. Rockin’ song, rockin’ moves! (Incidentally, a decent English translation of “Bebot” can be found in bughaw.com)


    • Posted under People-watching