SYTYCD Season 11: Dave Scott

How did we get Dave Scott on the show? Chloe ran into him out and about in Hollywood. He willingly gave up his contact info and I sent him an email. Within two hours, we had our guest!

I am really proud that we were able to book three choreographers in three different styles this season: Contemporary, Broadway and Hip Hop. I am praying that SYTYCD gets picked up for another season because I finally connected with NappyTabs. I interviewed them for my upcoming article in the December issue of Dance Spirit. So let's hope we get a Season 12!

Next week, I will be alone…Chloe and Jake all have other commitments, so I get the boys all to myself.  Join me for the finale with Serge Onik, Teddy Coffey and Emilio Dosal.

If you missed this week's episode, you can watch it below:

SYTYCD Season 11: Mandy Moore

This might be my favorite show all season. It was such an honor to have the Emmy-nominated Mandy Moore in our studios. She gave us a candid look at the contestants and what goes on in those rehearsal rooms. For my DWTS fans, we will try and have her on in the fall since she brings so much to the table. 

A couple of fun things we learned:

--They are not asking the choreographers' opinions on the contestants this year.

--Music clearance is challenging. Sometimes contestants find out the night before that their solo music cannot be used. Stressful!

--Mandy choreographs DWTS much differently than SYTYCD because she isn't ballroom trained. She said she relies upon Sasha, Emma, Jenna and Val to help her out in the studio.

--She also gives her thoughts on Shania Twain possibly joining the show…remember, Mandy choreographed her Vegas show!

Next week's guests are Nick Lazzarini, Season 1, and Jaimie Goodwin, Season 3.

AfterBuzz TV DWTS Season 17: Henry Byalikov

What a week! As you know, we always try to get Henry Byalikov on twice during the season. Hopefully, we will get him on closer to the end. There was so much to talk about with 12 dances, Bill Nye's injury, the opening number and the Emmys that we did not get to the fan questions. However, Henry stayed after and we audio-recorded the questions and answers for you. So make sure to send a big "THANK YOU" to Henry on social media for being so kind to do that for all of us.

Henry answers YOUR fan questions:
Two things to note:
1. Many of you had multiple questions. I asked one question per fan.
2. The questions came only from my blog. Due to time constraints, any questions on Twitter or Facebook were not answered.

Thanks for understanding!

DWTS Season 17: Week 2 Preview

I hope you all like the photo.

Yes, Henry Byalikov is our guest on Tuesday. Many of you saw the announcement on Twitter earlier this week and you've been eagerly awaiting this post. It's been a busy week, but I finally had a free minute to get this up.

The wonderful thing about having Henry on the show is that it is great timing. He and Sharna Burgess are choreographing the opening number this week, so we will get the inside scoop on how it all came together.

The whole team is expected to be in studio this week: Anna, me, Jake and Suri.

Time to get those questions in! Fire away in the comments section below. We will see you all on Tuesday at 8pm PT on AfterBuzz TV.

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: tWitch & Allison Holker

Oh, what a night! This was a dream come true for us at AfterBuzz TV. We were so excited to have tWitch and Allison in the studio. I wish I could share all of the texts between me, Jake, Chloe and AJ. It was kind of like Christmas morning when you were three years old.

I'm here to tell you that these two are the real deal: nice, funny, totally in love and incredibly talented. They are great ambassadors of dance and they represent SYTYCD so well.

We ran out of time for fan questions, so I audio-recorded them. I hope to have it up here on my site by this weekend. Stay tuned!

One thing you might not know about our group of hosts is that we all really like each other. After each show we hang out in the studio on the couches and chat about anything and everything. Last night, tWitch and Allison joined us for over an hour. We had a blast and I promise you...we were loud!  It was a fun night.

If you missed the show last night, watch it below. One more show left. Next week, it's All-Star Neil Haskell.

If you haven't seen Allison and Derek Hough's Emmy-nominated dance pieces, click here.

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: Top 4 Preview

What else can I say? It's tWitch and Allison Holker week! Emmys, Step Up 5, All-stars on SYTYCD ...where do we begin? Get those questions in now, it's going to be an epic week of SYTYCD on AfterBuzz TV.

If you missed my first episode of Dance Chat, click here.

Photo credit:  Joe Toreno

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: Top 6 Preview

I think the cat is out of the bag and most of you know who are guest is this week. Yep, Courtney Galiano! She's returning to our show for the second time after making a visit last season. Courtney's story is amazing and she's an inspiration to us all. If you missed her All-Star appearance with Tucker on SYTYCD last week, make sure to watch it before our show on Wednesday.

Courtney recently has been a principal dancer on VH1's Hit the Floor and helped organize the upcoming 1st Annual The Beat MS Dance Walk on September 22. There's a lot to talk about! So get those questions in for Courtney at the comments below.

Watch us on Wednesday on AfterBuzz TV at 9pm PT right here.

SYTYCD on AfterBuzz TV: Top 8 Preview

I cannot believe we are down to the last four weeks on SYTYCD. This season flew by for me because I have really enjoyed the competition and the talent this year. As you know, I've talked a lot about our guests this season and how much they've added to our shows this year. So, I'm so excited to announce that this week's guest is Audrey Case.

She was a Top 10 contestant on Season 9 and you may have remember her for her routine with tWitch by Dave Scott or one of my favorites with her partner Matthew Kazmierczak by Travis Wall.  The "Unchained Melody" piece was picked for the finale and for the tour.

UPDATE: So I received a text from Audrey last night asking if she could bring a friend with her on the show.  This is who she is bringing...

Yep, Matthew Kazmierczak! Get those questions in for Matthew, too! It's going to be a great night on AfterBuzz TV.

So, get those questions in for Audrey and I will see you all on Wednesday on AfterBuzz TV at 9 p.m. PT. Watch here.

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: Lindsay Nelko

What a night! So much to talk about and so little time. I am thrilled that this season of SYTYCD has brought such incredible talent. These kids are going to work a lot once they are off the show and done with the tour.

Lindsay Nelko was a great addition to the show. I wish we could have done an after, after show where we talked about her mentors Brian Friedman and Desmond Richardson. It was actually Richardson who recommended her for the show, but it's Friedman's The Pulse tour that got her noticed. We also had a personal discussion about being a young artist in the business and honoring commitments including making sure you understand the business part as much as the creative part. It was fascinating.

I want to thank Shannon Mather for talking to me on the phone about how she felt about her piece and what she on the show this week. It really does seem that "Medicine" is a popular piece for choreographers this year. She and Travis Wall are fine, so it's not a controversy. I know she really wants to choreograph for the show, so let's support Shannon and Travis. I think we cleared everything up on her end for the viewers.

Shannon Mather's Piece
Kristin McQuaid Piece
Travis Wall Piece

Finally, we have some great guests for the rest of the season. I hope you join us through our last show on Sept. 11. I know Jake and I will be rolling right into Season 17 of DWTS which will begin on Sept. 17 at 8pm PT.

You can download the podcast here.

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: Spencer Liff

What a show! I think I learned more about SYTYCD dance in this hour than in the last two seasons of covering this show. Spencer Liff gave us a real insider's look at the pressures the choreographers and the contestants are under. It's a time crunch each and every week. Doesn't it make you admire the work everyone puts in even more?

I hope you all take note of Spencer's career because you are going to hear his name a lot outside of SYTYCD. It's really exciting to see choreographer's emerge from this show. It also makes me excited to have Lindsay Nelko on as a guest on Aug. 14. We will get the opportunity to talk to someone who is just breaking out.

I have also updated our guest list for August, it's a great line-up this month and I like the variety that we have.

Finally, it was definitely time for Alexis and Curtis to exit, but I think this is going to be a great stepping stone for them. They both said they wanted to head to New York to Disney's Newsies. I hope to see them on the Great White Way soon.

Watch the show below or you can download the show in iTunes here.

SYTYCD on AfterBuzz TV: Top 14 Preview

What a great weekend for dance! If you missed some of my Dizzy Feet Foundation Gala photos, be sure to check them out here. I've been working hard on booking some good guests, so be sure to check out the updated list here. There are two dancers in particular who I sweating over to get into our studios. If it happens, I am going to make sure Chloe, AJ and Jake buy me a cocktail after the show.

Our guest this week is one of my favorites from last season, Spencer Liff. He's so talented as a choreographer and just an incredibly nice guy. I hope you are all following his career because he star is on the rise in the Broadway world. He also just choreographed a number honoring Chita Rivera at the Dizzy Feet Gala.

Get those questions for Spencer...you know what to do, questions go in the comments section below.

I will see you all on Wednesday at 9pm PT on AfterBuzz TV. Watch here.