Another Allison & Ivan favorite: [link]

Plus, Shane Sparks! Although the popularity of this number might have been what led to the whole "lyrical hip-hop" takeover.

There's a strain of dance studios that are serious competition studios and they train and work all year to go to conventions like Jump or NYCDA or Hall of Fame. These conventions usually last a weekend, although some last up to a week, and offer classes that participants can take at all different levels, including master classes for advanced dancers in different styles. The conventions are also part competition and again they have lots of different divisions and styles that participants can compete in. Tons of the SYTYCD kids come out of this convention circuit - really almost any of the contemporary kids has probably been to more than one convention. That's why the Shankdaddy killed me busting on "Convention 101" dancers earlier this season because there's definitely a style and a culture that grows up around these things. Lots of former contestants make their living being associated with one of the major conventions (For example, S1 winner Nick does Jump/Break the Floor mainly while Travis is more NYCDA). They travel around the country teaching master classes and workshops at these things. A lot of the SYTYCD choreographers are also big on the convention circuit (Mia and Mandy spring to mind. Dan K. does tons of master classes/workshops).

I think that whole convention scene can get kind of JonBenet Ramsey, but they do provide a great opportunity for kids who live in places that are not exactly dance hubs to get exposure to really good teachers and challenging choreography.

I'm watching TC now. I'm surprised that the guy doing dessert went with a rice milk ice cream -- coconut milk ice creams are MUCH better, and still satisfy all the requirements. (This stuff: [link] )

t edit: OK, got to the tasting, and they said the exact same thing.

In finale news, Evan got totally swallowed up by that Kodak Theater stage. He just didn't dance big enough in any of his routines to make an impact. Brandon was amazing in that Laurie Ann Gibson piece and I continue to enjoy the fact that they brought Boomkat onto this show. I hope she rubs P.Diddy's face all in it. I loved that Mia piece for Jeanine and Kayla and I think they both were amazing in it. Although, for me, that was the only routine of the night where I liked Kayla more. She was gorgeous in that - her legs in those gran jetes were endless. I did not enjoy the Kayla/Brandon broadway, but I rarely like Tasty doing Broadway and especially not when he's doing his bad Fosse impersonation. He even had Brandon dressed like Ben Vereen in All That Jazz. Bleagh. If I wanted to see that scene, I'd watch the movie. I'm still waiting on the day when someone will choreograph a real Paso to this show, but I liked what Brandon and Jeanine did. And I loved, loved Jeanine's costume and want to get one for myself. All the solose were meh to passable save Jeanine's. She was magic in her solo (although I did agree that the fake flower was distracting). I really hope she will win. The theater was full of signs for her - way more than for any other contestant. And she got by far the loudest applause all night (with the exception of the spontaneous pity party that broke out for Evan). I think she has a real shot. If not her, though, then I'm afraid Evan will take it, which would be a shame. He's not a bad dancer, but he is by far the weakest of the final four.

Now that I think about it, I'm also kind of puzzled about why he went with quinoa pasta rather than polenta, which would have been my first instinct and would have avoided the questions about having store-bought pasta. The judges' comments about how vegan food is usually bland annoyed me, too -- there are plenty of fabulous all-vegan restaurants, and also a whole lot of restaurants that serve meat but have chefs who know what they're doing with creating a few vegan dishes for the menu. (Sorry. I'm getting vegan-ranty. But I think this is the first time I've ever watched a cooking show and had quite this many "That could be better if you did it THIS way..." moments.)

Seriously, has Gael Greene never made it to Angelica Kitchen?

Seriously, has Gael Greene never made it to Angelica Kitchen?

Or Blossom, or Candle 79, just to name the big ones in NYC. Or Pure Food and Wine, for the raw food people. I've gotten some really good vegan stuff at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants when I've gone there for Restaurant Week, too.

Top Chef: Chocolate was obviously okay -- what about something like a flourless chocolate torte? Although I guess that's not something you attempt without a recipe or some experience, either.

Flourless cakes generally have a ton of eggs. I think I could figure out how to make it eggless, but it would take several tries, and I've been doing vegan baking for a while. Also, most of the things that I would try have soy. Some combination of coconut yogurt and ground flax seed might work, but that would be really difficult to get right on the first try -- you'd be pretty likely to end up with a cake that either doesn't rise or falls apart when you try to cut it.

thank you for the discussion of master classes and info about what alums are doing. I didn't pick any of that up in reading on the internet and I never did know what master classes were.

TCM: I've recently become gluten intolerant and used to be a vegetarian so I was really bugged that couldn't see how many possibilities Whole Foods offered to them. Quinoa isn't the only, and not the best wheat-free pasta and I agree that coconut milk would have been much better.

SYTYCD: Jeanine or Brandon should win. But, the best dancer rarely does. Travis, Danny, Katie were all better than the person who won. And the list of better dancers who didn't make it into the final four is even longer. Allyson, Pasha, Sara, Will...I know there's more.