Skip to main content

Step It Up

Sorry this week's post is a bit late, I've been a bit busy lately and got behind. :)

Step It Up is an American reality show about the dance team Young Contemporary Dance Theatre (YCDT) run by Traci Young-Byron, who used to be the team captain of NBA (basketball) dance team Miami HEAT Dancers. The YCDT dancers perform different styles such as contemporary,  hip hop, West African and jazz. Step It Up follows a similar format to other Lifetime shows Dance Moms, Dance Mums with Jennifer Ellison (the UK version of Dance Moms) and Bring It! where every week the dancers prepare to take part in a performance and/or an audtiton. It's currently on Lifetime UK on Mondays at 9pm but I think tomorrow will be the last episode of the current series.

YCDT is based in Miami, Florida. There are two teams, Company and Repertory (the more elite dancers). Much like Bring It! Traci cuts dancers who she doesn't think are prepared for upcoming performances or events. (Not from the school altogether, just from the event). Some of the dancers featured are Janae who has been told her that good looks can be a disadvantage if the focus is more on how she looks than her talent, Diaunte whose ambition is to get into Rep and brother and sister Jakirah and Antonio. Traci is a unique character who dresses in a distinctive style and often changes her hair style! She is strict with the dancers and can be hard on them but you can tell she cares.

According to Lifetime Traci has a rivalry with Miss D and her Dancing Dolls team (Bring It!). I thought they were quite different dance teams really, the Dancing Dolls do more cheerleader type dance, it's known as "hip hop majorette". I suppose they have hip hop in common though.

Update 20/12/15: I just read that Step It Up is a spin-off from Bring It! and the two teams do directly compete as you can see in this video: http://starsparklex.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/bring-it-video.html

Here's a video from when the YCDT peformed at and modelled in African designer Tebo Dembe's fashion show:





For more on Step It Up check out these links:

Lifetime US site: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/step-it-up

Lifetime UK: http://www.lifetimetv.co.uk/shows/step-it-up

Yahoo article: https://www.yahoo.com/tv/step-it-up-lifetime-traci-young-byron-get-right-127705990015.html


P.S. Speaking of dance, I just took part in a dance event with my belly dance group today, Dance Active which is based in Brighton. Here's the link if you'd like to read about it: http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/leisure-and-libraries/sports-and-activity/dance-active-2013

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

25th Anniversary of Mariah Carey's Butterfly Album

My favourite singer Mariah Carey recently released a 25th anniversary edition of her 6th studio album Butterfly. The original album was released on 16th September 1997 and featured songs such as her hit single Honey, The Roof and My All. It was actually the first album I ever bought (on cassette tape, lol) and I still consider it one of my fave MC albums. :) Butterfly was the first album that Mariah had more control over and it is R'n'B, rather than the pop (and later pop/R'n'B) of her previous releases. It also has pop and hip hop influences. The expanded edition contain 8 extra tracks (the original standard edition has 12)- a duet version of Whenever You Call with Brian McKnight , a new take on The Roof featuring Brandy , live versions of Butterfly and My All, acapella versions of Fourth of July and Outside, an Amorphous Anniversary Club Mix of Butterfly (with DJ Amorphous ) and a remix of Honey (Another Taste of Honey David Morales Mix). I had previously heard the D...

New J.Lo and JoJo Music

Two singers I like, Jennifer Lopez and JoJo have new music out, so today I'm sharing it on the blog! Jennifer Lopez- Baila Conmigo First up is Jennifer Lopez, whose new song is the Spanish language Baila Conmigo (Dance with Me). It's a cover of the 2018 single by Dayvi featuring Kelly Ruiz . Watch the video with the original mix here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZM52M6cfSA Baila Conmigo (J.Lo version) came out on 10th October. This is an audio but if there's a music video later, I'll update the post. :) Want more J.Lo? Check out these posts: Spanish language songs: Dame Lyrics and Translation: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/04/jennifer-lopez-dame-lyrics-and.html Video for Amor, Amor, Amor: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/11/weekly-music-video_15.html Spanish song Al Anillo and Dinero:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/05/new-jennifer-lopez-music.html 50th bday post: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/07/happy-50th-b...

New Unexpected

We're finally getting the new season of the reality TV series Unexpected in the UK! Season 3 was shown in the US last summer , and I wondered when we'd get it here. I don't have any online streaming services so thought I'd just watch clips on YouTube, lol. However it's now starting here in early March. Similar to the popular MTV franchise Teen Mom , Unexpected focuses on teen parents. The first series featured 3 couples expecting babies- Lily Bennett and her boyfriend James Kennedy who have daughter Aaliyah, now 2;  Mckayla Adkins and partner Caelan Morrison who have son Timothy, also known as Timmy (and now daughter Gracelynn , born in January 2019), and  Lexus Scheller and boyfriend Shayden Massey who have daughter Scarlett. Season 2 saw the departure of Lilly and the addition of 3 new pregnant girls and their partners- Laura Barron and her boyfriend (now husband) Tylor Stawmyor who have son Lucas (and have since had another baby , a 2nd son, who is named Leo), ...