Revolution | Dance to dance, to forget

Loaded and tough semi-final at Revolutionwhich brought tears to the three grand masters, shaken by a very poignant number by Gabrielle Boudreau, 22, about the sexual violence she suffered.

In an emerald green dress, the talented Acadian dancer originally from Petit-Rocher, now based in Montreal, swirled around men’s jackets hanging to the notes of the song Just a woman by Anne Sylvestre. One of the models took off her skirt, another grabbed her buttocks.

Her “revolution” moment, where she froze in the air held by a long piece of fabric, was magnificent. Gabrielle Boudreau fully deserved her score of 97 out of 100, the highest of Sunday evening.

The second finalist, Sébastien Leroux, 18, from Orléans, a suburb of Ottawa, presented his vulnerability on the circular stage of Revolution and obtained the second score with his 92 out of 100.

Yes, this is the same Sébastien Leroux who twirled around during the fourth edition of Revolutionin 2022. He had been cut at the improbable duos stage.

This is perhaps what bothers me the most Revolution, a unifying, moving show full of artistic qualities. The same faces often return from season to season. It must be said that, unlike ODthe pool of gifted dancers is not renewed as quickly as that of singles looking for scented boxers (hello, Anthony!).

The fourth finalist, Sean Wathen, 19, who moved in complete silence, had progressed to the improbable duets of Revolution 3, in 2021, with his group Break City All-Stars. This Sean amazes, he always offers surprising concepts, which show the extent of his precise technique.

The performance of Jordan and Santiago, both 23 years old, also upset the three masters. It was about the death of Jordan’s father, who died of cancer 12 years ago. The room Melancholy by Patrick Watson, accompanied by Safia Nolin, perfectly matched the choreography of these two best friends, described as annoying by Lydia Bouchard.

This semi-final, where the competitors danced about a subject directly affecting them, also addressed self-sabotage, the desire for emancipation, belittling, physical complexes and internalized homophobia. It ends up weighing down the atmosphere, let’s say it. Like a Star Academy or to The voice when young candidates talk about very heavy personal events.

At the same time, these moments of introspection reduce the intensity of the cries uttered by the masters, particularly Jean-Marc Généreux and Mel Charlot, who sometimes bury what is happening in front of them. A blessing in disguise.

That said, I like the humanity, the sincerity and the accuracy of the comments made by the judges of Revolution. Lydia Bouchard expresses herself with a rich and precise vocabulary, something increasingly rare on television.

On the other hand, eight numbers lasting a few minutes in almost 1 hour 40 minutes of broadcasting is too little to Revolution. Should be shortened and pruned. Inevitably, we end up with filler elements, which distract us from the feats performed in the magnificent arena.

After five seasons, I still can’t decide whether or not I like the work of host-muse Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse. It is impossible to put in a specific box. Her restraint, often justified, sometimes makes her seem distant from the participants. And Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse lacks emotion and poise in crucial moments of the show, such as when the results are announced. We could use a little more enthusiasm on his part, let’s say.

Fortunately, we feel that Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, empathetic and involved, adores the dancers and that she is really interested in their journey. In short, the ambivalence remains.

Masked singers is juggling the same problem as Revolution, I find. With four or five performances per show, you have to be on the air for a full hour. Result: you can almost cut the viewing time in half by watching Masked singers accelerated.

On Sunday evening, the competition’s most sparkling mascot, the ice ballerina, was ejected (by the way, does anyone oversee the rather nebulous voting system?). Unsurprisingly, it was the actress Julie Ringuette who was hiding in this disguise made from disco ball shards.

The final of Masked singers will pit Mutante Rita, the Wolf, the Chameleon and the Lion against each other. My vote would go to Mutante Rita, who sounds like Jeannick Fournier, indeed.

Viewers do not mind the length of Sunday broadcasts, if we rely on the figures recorded by the Numeris firm. The semi-final of Revolution was seen by 1,142,000 followers, while that of Masked singers came close to 1.8 million with its audience estimated at 1,792,000 curious people. It’s a tabarouette of people.

At Radio-Canada, Everybody talks about it crossed the magic million mark with 1,115,000 followers at the post. At Noovo, the final ofDouble occupancy Andalusia caught the attention of 488,000 die-hards.

To paraphrase co-host Fred Robichaud, it was a nice “welcome”, uh, a nice welcome that was reserved for Simon and Mia, crowned by a protest vote. Long live Simialoès!