14 replies to this topic

[Figurante]

I thought I would start a thread about So You Think You Can Dance for Season Five with the news that Alex Wong from Miami City Ballet has made it to the Las Vegas round, which will air on Fox next week Wednesday (8-10pm) and will follow-up with the top twenty dancers announced on Thursday (9-10pm)

Good luck to all dancers in the competition!

[carbro]

Oh, good!  It's much more fun when there's a rooting interest from the get-go.  Thanks for the heads-up on Alex, Figurante!

[nysusan]

Thanks so much for posting this. I don't always watch SYTUCD but now that I know that Alex Wong is on I will watch or tape it for sure. I remember him from the ABT studio company and have seen him a couple of times since he joined MCB - he's so talented!

[bingham]

nysusan, on May 28 2009, 03:23 PM, said:

Thanks so much for posting this. I don't always watch SYTUCD but now that I know that Alex Wong is on I will watch or tape it for sure. I remember him from the ABT studio company and have seen him a couple of times since he joined MCB - he's so talented!

    So, it was him. I saw the end of his audition dance and i was thinking that he resenbled A Wong. Now,i will be watching too.

[robinmc]

I am very excited to see him dance, I first saw the clip and I said, "boy, is he good"....then I saw his name...I should have guessed. Just hoping for more accreditated dancers will follow.

[Dale]

I was very excited to see Alex Wong on SYTYCD (OK, coming clean...I love watching this show). Last night it was revealed that Villella refused to let Alex out of his contract so he could participate on the main portion of the show. This being "reality" TV I question if that is so or the show worried about having a professional currently in a top ballet company on the show (Tidwell had left ABT and it was rarely mentioned that he even was in the company). Although I respect Wong's desire to explore other dance forms, I regret that the judges continued the stereotype of ballet being "confining." Looks like an interesting top 20, including a female ballet dancer.

[glebb]

It seems very THE RED SHOES, another era.
I'm thankful that one good thing I learned from Gerald Arpino was to not stand in the way of the progress of an artist.  
He would have never held a dancer back.

[bingham]

Dale, on Jun 5 2009, 03:21 PM, said:

I was very excited to see Alex Wong on SYTYCD (OK, coming clean...I love watching this show). Last night it was revealed that Villella refused to let Alex out of his contract so he could participate on the main portion of the show. This being "reality" TV I question if that is so or the show worried about having a professional currently in a top ballet company on the show (Tidwell had left ABT and it was rarely mentioned that he even was in the company). Although I respect Wong's desire to explore other dance forms, I regret that the judges continued the stereotype of ballet being "confining." Looks like an interesting top 20, including a female ballet dancer.

         I am very cynical on these so-called reality shows. Surely, Alex would have asked "permission" from the company even before auditioning. Otherwise , how could he participate in the competition for several weeks  without being absent from the company.It would have been exciting if he "allowed " to join.

[printscess]

This is from the elimination.

Too bad.

[sidwich]

Quote

I am very cynical on these so-called reality shows. Surely, Alex would have asked "permission" from the company even before auditioning. Otherwise , how could he participate in the competition for several weeks without being absent from the company.It would have been exciting if he "allowed " to join.

I am as cynical about reality TV as anyone (probably more, since I used to work on a reality show).  But I think it is actually pretty likely that there is a legal difference between the audition rounds and the main competition.  I'm not familiar with the Miami Ballet's contract or the SYTYCD contract, but from my understanding on "American Idol" (which is produced by the same company), once the contestants are through the audition rounds are into the top 10 (maybe 12), legally they are considered paid performers, and are subject to SAG rules, etc. which is not true in the earlier rounds.  It may be the Mr. Wong's contract does not restrict him from auditioning for other work (assuming it does not conflict with his work at the company), but does have some kind of restriction on what kind of paid work he is allowed to accept.

[bart]

Some biographical background:  Wong  joined MCB in 2005-2006 as a first-year corps man and was promoted to soloist in 2007.  He's a natural dancer, well-trained and very versatile.  He's also a real performer, who makes even the most complicated choreography look as though his body is creating it spontaneously.  He obviously loves the stage.

Wong danced a lot that first  season and was quickly given solo work:  the Scherzo movement of Western Symphony, a pairing with principal Jeremy Cox in the "I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones" section of Paul Taylor's Funny Papers , one of the three lead couples in Symphony in Three Movements, etc.  

His repertoire was expanded over the next two seasons:  one of the couples in Symphony in Three Movements, partnering Catoya in Raymonda Variations and Tarantella, an important part in Tharp's In the Upper Room, Blue Bird in Aurora's Wedding.  He was a stand out in the Tharp Night Spot.

There were fewer big roles in 2008-2009, though he was an stunning Melancholic in The Four Temperments, danced the allegro vivace movement of Symphony in C with principal Jeanette Delgado,  and returned in Upper Room.

I don't know any of the details behind this story.  It does seem ironic, however, that the "No" came from Edward Villella, a man who became a huge television star during his days at New York City Ballet and who has written eloquently, in  his autobiography, about the importance of bringing ballet to a larger audience.

[Justdoit]

MCB's layoff begins in April.  Many of the dancers do gigs elsewhere during that time without needing permission from the company to do so.  It is only conjecture on our part to know if Alex  asked permission before going for the first audition.  However, the company does have a tour to Vail in July and is due back that month to get back in shape and rehearsing.  He is most likely needed in Vail, as there are certainly less men to pull from when one is "out" for any reason.  There is also an early in the season (October) tour to Chicago, which would also have been considered.  

All that said, it would have been nice if he could have stayed.  Nice for MCB publicity and for Alex, as well.

[aurora]

bart, on Jun 6 2009, 05:56 PM, said:

Some biographical background:  Wong  joined MCB in 2005-2006 as a first-year corps man and was promoted to soloist in 2007.  He's a natural dancer, well-trained and very versatile.  He's also a real performer, who makes even the most complicated choreography look as though his body is creating it spontaneously.  He obviously loves the stage.

Just to clarify, MCB has a rank between soloist and principal of "Principal Soloist"--it is this rank that Alex current holds, not that of soloist, although the MCB website does not state when Alex was promoted (I believe it was earlier this year if I am remembering correctly from a post on the Winger where Alex is a blogger).

[Dale]

One problem might have been the SYTCD contract. The top 10 go on tour after the show, with several of the top 20 filling in.
Anyway, I thought it would be good publicity for MCB as well.

[bart]

aurora, on Jun 8 2009, 09:52 AM, said:

Just to clarify, MCB has a rank between soloist and principal of "Principal Soloist"--it is this rank that Alex current holds, not that of soloist, although the MCB website does not state when Alex was promoted (I believe it was earlier this year if I am remembering correctly from a post on the Winger where Alex is a blogger).

You're right, aurora.  I was looking at old programs, where the update did not appear.  Here's his current bio from the MCB website:

Quote

Alex Wong
Vancouver, Canada
Trained at Goh Ballet Academy. Danced with Goh Ballet Company, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, American Ballet Theatre. Joined MCB as a member of the Corps in 2005. Promoted to Principal Soloist in 2009.