So You Think You Can Dance has already seen some amazing dancers audition, but will the streak of great talent continue in Los Angeles and Philadelphia? This is shaping up to be an incredible season!
Our favorite So You Think You Can Dance judges, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, are joined once again by actress Christina Applegate for the L.A auditions. In Philadelphia, Prima ballerina Misty Copeland takes a seat at the judge’s table, and Billy Porter sits in on the second day of auditions.
Will your favorite hopeful get a ticket to callbacks, or even hop aboard the hot tamale train?
Let’s find out! First up is Los Angeles.
Which Women from Los Angeles Are Going to Callbacks?
Alla Kocherga: This 24 year-old from Los Angeles delivers a smoldering Latin ballroom performance with her partner, Serge Onik. She even suggests that Serge be her boyfriend if they make it to the next round. Mary is impressed with this duo, and they sail into the callbacks.
Jourdan Epstein: This Minnesota’s dancer’s solo on pointe deals with the pain caused by her brother’s substance abuse issues, and how their relationship has flourished since he became sober. Her graceful and charismatic performance wins her a place on the hot tamale train, and a ticket to the next round.
Malene Ostergaard: After dealing with depression and her loss of self-confidence, this ballroom dancer met her current partner, Armen, and rediscovered her love of dance. They are a sizzling couple and light the stage on fire. Malene and Armen board Mary’s hot tamale train and, of course, both are on the way to the callbacks.
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Which Men from Los Angeles Are Going to Callbacks?
Serge Onik: Last season Serge made it to the Green Mile while his partner at the time, Brittany Cherry, made it to the top 20. Serge turns in a great performance with his new partner, Alla, and they move on to the callbacks.
Armen Way: This 28 year-old ballroom dancer made it to the Vegas round last season when he dropped his partner on her head. Ouch! His routine with Malene is spectacular, and their routine is my pick of the night. He joins his partner with a ticket to the next round.
Casey Askew: This 19 year-old performs an emotional contemporary routine that wins him a ticket to the next round. Casey is so impressive he doesn’t even get any judges’ comments — just the ticket.
“Johnny Waacks” Gibson: This “waacker” hales from New York City, and he first auditioned in season nine. The judges have the giggles this time around, too, but they enjoy his performance. Mary gives him a standing ovation, and Nigel is also a fan. Johnny Waacks is given the okay to learn choreography, and his performance wins him a ticket to the L.A. callbacks.
Which Men from Los Angeles Are NOT Going to Callbacks?
J-4: This adorable boy deserves a ticket just for being so darn cute! Although he maintains he is over 18-years old, the judges finally get the nine year-old hip-hop dancer to cop to his age. As he is just in it for the experience, Nigel calls Cyrus and Fik-Shun to the stage to dance along with J-4. This crew gets a standing ovation, and J-4 even gets to meet tWitch backstage.
Timothy Joseph: This B-boy from Sacramento specializes in flips and springboard moves that made the judges groan every time his back hit the stage. He wins a place in the choreography round, but has to bow out after a painful injury to his leg.
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Dance Crews
Justin Bieber is back, along with choreographer Nick Demoura, to present two more dance crews vying for your Twitter votes and a chance to perform on the So You Think You Can Dance finale.
Wanted Ashiqz: This Philadelphia crew fuses hip-hop, Bollywood and theatrics. You can vote for them at #SYTYCDwanted.
Mix’D Elements: This L.A. crew blends hip-hop with martial arts and street dancing. You can vote for them at #SYTYCDmixd.
Now we are off to the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, where Nigel and Mary are joined by Misty Copeland. Broadway star Billy Porter takes a seat at the judges’ table for the second round of auditions.
Which Women from Philadelphia Are Going to Callbacks?
Bridget Whitman: This dancer from Arizona suffered the loss of her Dad in a tragic car accident when she was 12 years-old. Her last memory of her father was watching So You Think You Can Dance together, and her father telling her that she could make it to that stage one day. Her elegance and grace easily wins her a ticket to the L.A. callbacks.
Amir Sanders: She is a 21 year-old ballerina from Baltimore, Maryland who performs “funky pointe.” Her personality really shines, and she advances to choreography. She does well and punches her ticket for L.A.
Which Men from Philadelphia Are Going to Callbacks?
Landon Anderson: This 18 year-old ballroom dancer may have a secret weapon: last season’s Jenna Johnson, who made it to the top 10. He actually auditioned with Jenna, but wasn’t old enough for the show. She is following through on her promise to audition with him for this season. Mary and Misty commend Landon’s masculine dance style before giving him the ticket to callbacks. Nigel gives Jenna a gift as well as she is invited to be an All-Star after only one season of being on the show. Congratulations, Jenna!
Shafeek Westbrook: This dancer from Pennsylvania made it to Vegas in season 9, but was cut because of his attitude. He vowed to never return, but he is back and ready to take the stage again. Although his B-boy routine is entertaining, Mary feels like he held back. Nigel sends him through to the choreography round. He performs well and grabs a ticket to L.A.
Stanley Glover: This contemporary dancer is from Chicago, and his mother passed away when he was only 4 years-old. His mother’s friend stepped up to become his guardian when other relatives didn’t take custody. His raw athleticism is on full display as he portrays a creature. Nigel is thrilled, yet a little frightened by his performance; Stanley gets his callback ticket from Billy Porter.
Which Men from Philadelphia Are NOT Going to Callbacks?
James “Banks” Davis: He is a 24 year-old crumper from Brooklyn with quite a story to tell. James was shot twice in the knee, and nearly lost his leg because of the injury. He is thankful that he is still able to dance, and performs a slow crumping routine. He is sent to choreography but fails to win a ticket to the next round.
Auditions for this season conclude next week, dance fans!
So You Think You Can Dance airs Wednesdays at 8 pm on FOX
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(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Kim has been covering television entertainment since 2013. She is addicted to Real Housewives, Pump Rules, Dancing with the Stars, and many more shows.
