Sonya Tayeh News

Whoooooooa, this is it! All of the voters have voted, the competitive dances have been danced, the, 'Shut your face's have been shut your faced; tonight was SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE's 11th season finale. And though, as in the last two years, we had four dancers still standing at the beginning of the night, for the first time since 2011, there was only one winner announced. Gone are the days of not having to choose between our favorite male and female dancers; this time, only one gets to take home the title of 'America's Favorite Dancer.'

The Martha Graham Dance Company's Shape&Design theme explores Graham's defining influence as an American modernist with programs that feature the sculptural and architectural aspects of choreography by Graham and others. The Company's two-week season at The Joyce Theater in New York City, February 10–22, 2015, will offer Graham classics, new commissions, and premieres by guest choreographers in three varied programs. The Company's expansive 2014-15 season also includes a twenty-city U.S. tour, and several projects related to Shape&Design, including partnerships with the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology and the international art gallery Hauser & Wirth.

Well, if you weren't fully invested in Season 11 of 'So You Think You Can Dance' yet, tonight is the night to dive-in head first. With the Top-10 being joined by an incredible cast of All-Stars, this week's episode brought about as much excitement as a dance fan can handle. Each dancer was, more or less, paired with an All-Star inside their genre, and nearly all of the 10 couples delivered excellent routines. That being said, a few left me disappointed.

Ok, after our Celebrity Guest-Recapper Natalie Weiss was absolutely on fire last week, I figured I had to step up my game tonight. So, as I did last year, I will be live updating tonight's Top-16 Episode of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. So, after every routine hit refresh, and I will have details and my Mini-Review for each.

DancerPalooza, a comprehensive one-of-a-kind dance experience, the 'Coachella' for the dance world, will bring together the industry's top professional choreographers, including Mandy Moore and Travis Wall, who were both just nominated for 2014 Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Choreography for 'So You Think You Can Dance' on FOX.

I am so honored and thrilled to be the first guest So You Think You Can Dance recapper for BWW! It is now 2:15 A.M. and I am putting together my A.D.D. notes into cohesive sentences after watching tonight's episode on DVR. (I got home at midnight from judging the semi-finals of the weekly competition, 'So You Think You Can Belt' at the West End Theatre uptown) It's pretty ironic that they're on the same night of the week.

DancerPalooza, a comprehensive one-of-a-kind dance experience, the "Coachella" for the dance world, will bring together the industry's top professional choreographers, including Mandy Moore and Travis Wall, who were both just nominated for 2014 Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Choreography for "So You Think You Can Dance" on FOX.

This week's SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE had a very Broadway feel to it with Josh Bergasse, the choreographer of the upcoming ON THE TOWN revival, staging a Top-20 routine to the show's anthem 'New York, New York' (the one by Bernstein, Comden, and Green, not Kander and Ebb). As we learned last week, this season's winner will earn a spot in the musical's ensemble. While some people, including @Actor_Friend, don't like this idea, remember, the last network show to give away roles on Broadway brought us Laura Osnes, so let's reserve judgment, just in case a reality show brings us more Broadway royalty this time.

It was a rushed audition and callback process, but finally, we are getting into the meat and potatoes of the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE season; the live shows. This week's installment is the 200th live show in SYTYCD history, and we finally got to see the Top-20 do their thing.

After four weeks of impressive, but not compelling, auditions, on Wednesday night, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE's 11th season dove head-first into an expedited Vegas Callback Week. Not only did we see each of the callback rounds, but we also saw the Green Mile, which brought us to this season's Top-20. While not having the Green Mile lead into a studio performance, as in recent years, was a little disappointing, I definitely appreciated not having the Top-20 announcements drug out for an entire two-hour broadcast.

DancerPalooza, a comprehensive one-of-a-kind dance experience, the 'Coachella' for the dance world, will bring together the industry's top professional choreographers, master teachers, professional dancers, dance students of all ages and dance fans under one roof for the first time ever for an exlusive week-long event from July 22 through 27, 2014 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Over 5,000 dancers and enthusiasts covering the wide spectrum of the field are expected to participate in this six-day festival.

Earlier this week, Drama Desk and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti ('The Sound of Music Live!', Gypsy, Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) hosted the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards at The Town Hall (123 W. 43rd Street). Big winners for the night included Audra McDonald, Bryan Cranston, Jessie Mueller, and Neil Patrick Harris and Jefferson Mays- who tied for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Check out photos of the red crapet fashions below!

Just last night, Drama Desk and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti ('The Sound of Music Live!', Gypsy, Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) hosted the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards at The Town Hall (123 W. 43rd Street). Big winners for the night included Audra McDonald, Bryan Cranston, Jessie Mueller, and Neil Patrick Harris and Jefferson Mays- who tied for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.

Drama Desk and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti ('The Sound of Music Live!', Gypsy, Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) will host the 59th Annual Drama Desk Awards tonight, June 1, 2014 at 8:00 PM at The Town Hall (123 W. 43rd Street). BroadwayWorld will be updating you with winners throughout the night. Check back later for the full list!

The 11th season of SYTYCD begins this Wednesday, May 28th at 8:00/7:00 C. Recently I participated in a conference call with the show's creator, Executive Producer, and judge Nigel Lythgoe. In the excerpts from the conversation below, Uncle Nigel talked about the changes for this season, SYTYCD alums on Broadway, and Justin Bieber… yes Justin Bieber (bonus points if you can pick out the questions I asked).

The 59th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards, celebrating achievement in the Off-Broadway and off-off Broadway theater, were given out at a ceremony last night at Webster Hall in Greenwich Village. The awards ceremony was co-hosted by Tamara Tunie and Hamish Linklater. The awards were presented by Betsy Aidem, Harvey Fierstein, Lena Hall, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Andy Karl, David Bar Katz, Cristin Milioti, Kelli O'Hara, Lily Rabe and Stephen Trask. BroadwayWorld was there for the ceremony and you can check out photo coverage of the winners backstage below!

The 59th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards, celebrating achievement in the Off-Broadway and off-off Broadway theater, were given out at a ceremony last night at Webster Hall in Greenwich Village. The awards ceremony was co-hosted by Tamara Tunie and Hamish Linklater. The awards were presented by Betsy Aidem, Harvey Fierstein, Lena Hall, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Andy Karl, David Bar Katz, Cristin Milioti, Kelli O'Hara, Lily Rabe and Stephen Trask.

The seventh installment of BC Beat on Monday, May 19th highlights award winning choreographers and performers from television, film and Broadway who have created and performed in some of the year's most anticipated productions.

The 2014 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out last night at NYU Skirball Center, hosted by acclaimed husband and wife actors and comedians, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. This year's event once again benefited The Actors Fund. BroadwayWorld was there for the full night of festivites, and below you can check out photos from inside of the winner's room.

The 2014 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out tonight at NYU Skirball Center, hosted by acclaimed husband and wife actors and comedians, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. This year's event once again benefited The Actors Fund.