Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"Tore My Heart": best "So You Think You Can Dance" performance of the night, a tune by Bay Area Girls Rock Camp volunteer Oona Garthwaite

If you saw So You Think You Can Dance last night, you saw Jakob Karr and Ellenore Scott give everyone goosebumps with the modern choreography of Sonya Tayeh. The performance received a standing ovation from the audience as well as from all three judges making them freak out quite a bit (there was a lot of screaming). Nigel called the performance "fabulous" and his "favorite routine of the season." See the video below.

But I'm not going to talk about the dancing; I'm a music writer! I will say, however that it was moving performance, especially when Jakob and Ellenore walked forehead-to-forehead across the stage at the beginning. The habanera rhythm used in the song - like the aria with the same title from the 19th century opera Carmen by Georges Bizet - really lends itself to modern dance. I love it when traditional pieces of musical composition fit right into modern pop culture. Ellenore and Jakob used the Cuban rhythm to undulate across the floor. The pauses in the song also add to the drama of the performance, which Sonya Tayeh's choreography brilliantly mirrored.

click here to enjoy a video of the performance.

OONA is the magical pairing of singer/keyboardist/lyricist Oona Garthwaite and drummer/songwriter/jack-of-all-trades Dave Tweedie. Their music is what I call electro-soul-pop, yes, I just made up a genre. But think of it: soulful vocals with a pop mentality that makes you want to shake your booty. Oh, just listen to some of their music!

The song is now available on iTunes. Congrats guys!

Oona Garthwaite volunteers with me at the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

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