Episode Report Card Jeff Long: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Wine Is Working
By Jeff Long | Season 10 | Episode 10 | Aired on 09.20.2012
After the dance, she tells the designers that they will be designing a look for the Rockettes and the winner will be worn by the actual ladies. To help them better understand the challenge, Tim has enlisted the help of Linda Haberman, director and choreographer of the Rockettes. Linda has the same short spiky haircut of every single choreographer of her era. It's uncanny. Tim tells us that she worked with Bob Fosse back in the day, which I think has become code for "slept with Bob Fosse." Linda tells them that the Rockettes work year round, not just at Christmastime, so the designers should create an outfit that would be appropriate year round. Maybe make an outfit of rocks? Rocks work all year, that's for sure.
Melissa tells us that she has never designed a dance outfit and I'm not sure I needed to be told to know that. Heidi reminds them that the outfits have to play to the balcony too. The duds have to play to the cheap seats. Tim spouts a bunch of hokum about glamour and contemporary audiences with the result being that he tells the designers that they should embrace a modern aesthetic for the challenge. The designers file out in sync as Heidi tries to keep up with them. They get to study some of the costumes that have been worn by the Rockettes in the past. Christopher points out for Elena the costume with the pronounced shoulder pads, which makes me chuckle. It would appear that the people who didn't previously like each other have slipped into a kind of tolerance of each other which is sort of nice to see.
At Mood, Melissa chooses bright pink for her costume. That makes me nervous for her. Christopher has decided to replicate the New York skyline on the bodice of his costume. That sounds pretty exciting. Ven can't find the crystals he wanted, so he has to move in a different direction. Elena is having a lot of problems finding stuff that she likes. She ends up with a lot of crap that she considers ugly, but she hates almost everything so that's a pretty broad descriptor. Then, she's over budget by $150. She's not sure what to do, so she just leaves behind random stuff.
At the workroom, Tim comes in and tells them that they will only have until 7:30 that evening to work, because they are all going out to dinner! Fun! Christopher says that it will be a nice break from sewing all day, then going home and eating cold food, then going to bed. He's so excited and that's fun to see.
They get to work and Elena is already coming from a place of no. She hates her colors because she thinks they are reminiscent of a marching band. She's afraid that her design looks like an ice skating costume. Well, it's nice to know she has a future in two other arenas, too bad they weren't the ones that the challenge is regarding. She chases Dmitry around while holding her fabric and says that she has been around him too long and is now using blue. He must love that joke. Dmitry wonders why Elena is always making something that she hates.