This is it — the last of the So You Think You Can Dance auditions before the likely candidates head to Las Vegas for the final selection of the Top 20. There have been plenty of incredible dancers (and a few hopeful lunatics) so far, but can LA top them all? We’ve got an hour to find out…
Wow. I did not know there was a season when the auditions skipped out on New York. Was that early on? Or am I forgetting something more recent. Whatever the case, we’re in LA now, which has always and forever hosted SYTYCD auditions.
Unlike many of the cities, Los Angeles does not look quite so frigid. Not warm though. Must have been the middle of winter when they did all of these.
Tonight’s judges are: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and guest judge Tyce Diorio.
And it’s time to get going!
Jordan Casanova: Contemporary, or Maybe Jazz
She’s all innocent. Except onstage. Where she’s naughty and stuff. Seriously, this is like the most artistic cabaret/strip show ever going on right now. If she had anything to take off (the girl is in underwear), I’d be looking for the slimy men with dollar bills.
Nigel: “I’m going have to be careful what I say, or else I’m going to sound like a dirty old man here.”
Mary: “That was one of the hottest performances I have ever seen!”
Tyce: “I don’t even have words! It’s like naughty, naughty, naughty girl!”
Once they picked their jaws up from the floor, the judges handed Jordan her Las Vegas ticket.
D.C. Chapman: A Lot of Individual Steps That Make a Style
Aw… His fiancee is pregnant. How cute. But can he dance? If nothing else, he can teach Nigel some new dance steps. Also, he talks a lot. It’s kind of a funky robot dance to start with. And then it sort of moves into a Charlie Chaplin-esque performance as he goes. Wait, never mind. It’s not Charlie Chaplin. More Buster Keaton. Who I love. It’s great musical interpretation on top of the funky moves too. Awesome.
Nigel: “I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a routine like that since season 4.” “You transcend what this show is all about.”
Mary: “That was the most entertaining thing that I have ever seen. That was fantastic!”
Tyce: “People like you are a rarity.”
With the crowd going wild, D.C. gets the second ticket to Vegas.
Arielle Coker: Contemporary
Wow. This girl has been back so many times that the judges comment on her changed performance within seconds. I guess you get memorable after awhile. Arielle immediately goes into a crazy, sultry performance of weirdly-variable speed. I honestly don’t know what’s happening there. It’s pretty trippy.
Nigel: “I thought that was absolutely mesmerizing.”
Mary: “I loved every single second of that piece.”
Tyce: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody come back with that fire in their eyes.”
The praise naturally leads to yet another Las Vegas plane ticket.
Hero McCrae: Robot Dancing?
Do they have a So You Think You Can Dance in Japan? If so, then this is an odd one. Oh, never mind, she’s lived in the US for four years. Ah, the self-taught dancer. With roughly stereotypical Japanese mannerisms. She’s definitely got the techno/robot dance down cold. It’s also perfectly coordinated with the music, so it looks pretty awesome. Very specific but neat dance style there.
Nigel: “I don’t know if you’d be any good at doing anything else… I don’t care! I loved what you just did!”
Mary: “You are definitely something else!”
Tyce: “What? What? What? Where did you come from?”
With yet another funky dance move, Hero begins her trip to Las Vegas.
The end-of-day choreography led to eight more dancers being Vegas-bound. The judges are very, very happy. Cue the crazy-bad dancers!
Joe “Big C” Doyle: Krumping, According to What He Said
This guy starts out dressed like Santa. Then he strips and shimmies down to a ripped shirt. That might have been very bad krumping. Or not.
Nigel: “I think there’ll be a lot of kids blocking their chimneys right now.”
Mary: “That’s the first time we’ve had a Santa though.”
Tyce: “What are you doing?!”
No shock, but Big C went home.
Alexis Mason: Contemporary
Ah, the younger sister of season 5’s winner, Jeanine Mason. They look a lot alike. I’m not sure I’d ever try out for the show with that kind of pressure. And at least she’s a good dancer, doing a very balletic form of what seems to be contemporary dance. It’s possibly not the best dancing ever, but it is pretty and very full of emotion. This is a memorable dance if nothing else.
Nigel: “You’ve got this slight gold-fishing going on… But absolutely beautiful… It was thrilling to watch it.”
Mary: “You are an amazing dancer too.”
Tyce: “Did you look at her? That was my favorite part.”
Like her sister before, Alexis heads off to Las Vegas.
Patty Anne Miller: Hip Hop
A drummer and a dancer and a style consultant. That’s a lot of things to do. Whoa, I thought my TV was broken with that shaking at first. But nope, it was dancing. This is some weird but awesome stuff happening on the stage. Neato.
Nigel: “You are a young lady with a lot of secrets aren’t you?” “You are just so unique, I like it.”
Mary: “You’re really strong in what you’re doing.”
Tyce: “You are friggin’ cute. Look how friggin’ cute you are!”
As Patty Anne basically has a breakdown on stage, the judges offer the Vegas ticket.
And it’s time for the very last of the televised auditions. Apparently no one in Los Angeles does ballroom dancing. This causes Nigel to collapse laughing.
Sasha and Natalia Mallory: Modern-African
It’s a sister act! Squabbling! Finishing sentences! Shoving! They’re seriously cute. Oh, starting with a hug! The act doesn’t seem to be perfectly synchronized, but they both have pretty neat movement going on. It’s also nice to see something a little different with the African styles thrown into the more standard modern dancing. They’re both pretty good.
Nigel: “I’m really shocked.” “I’m impressed with the pair of you. Congratulations.”
Mary: “You guys are just too cute together.”
Tyce: “Great chemistry together.” “I kind of want more from you both.”
The judges unanimously send the sisters to choreography (where there are 28 other dancers). The choreography leads to a Las Vegas ticket for both sisters — after the requisite fake-out of course. In total, 11 of the choreography dancers got Las Vegas tickets.
And that’s it for the auditions! 160 dancers managed to get tickets to Sin City, where 140 of them will end up leaving super-depressed. But 20 will go on to the competition portion of So You Think You Can Dance, season 8!
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(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
