SYTYCD8 - The Dance is Back!

So You Think You Can Dance - Season 8 - Atlanta and Bay Area Auditions - Ep. 801 - Season Premiere
Atlanta Audition - Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Lil'C
Bay Area Audition - Judges: Nigel Lythgoe, Toni Redpath, Tyce DiOrio

THE DANCE IS BACK!!! THE CAT CAME BACK!!! It's now not summer anymore unless we can hear the luscious voice of Cat Deeley every week. So soothing!

Ok, so I'm not sure if I can keep up blogging the auditions, since as the years go by, I have less patience for the bad auditions or the sappy sob stories, but hopefully Nigel is learning to show the good stuff more, since that's what we're here for. If I wanted to be invested in bad dancers, I'd watch Dancing with the Stars.

But I'll definitely be back in full force for the Top 20, which this year, will start off like good ol' times as competitive pairs. Then when they've whittled it down to the Top 10, the All-Stars will return and be paired with a Season 8 competitor. Seems like they've finally wiggled their way with great mix of both systems! Nigel may have just come off from a boring American Idols season but I have to admit, the new judges (especially J. Lo) and focus on good singers in the audition rounds and the revised Top 24 system started off well enough. Unfortunately, America and middle-of-the road singers won out. Lets hope this season of SYTYCD avoids those problems.

And as we start Season 8, our expectations are even HIGHER. I have less patience for the regular contemporary solo auditions that seem to come by, especially after the likes of Travis Wall, Neil Haskell, Mark Kanemura, Jacob Karr, Katee Shean etc.

Luckily, there aren't too many horrible auditions to start off this eighth season.

Here are the good auditions I liked from the premiere episode:

Atlanta Auditions: - Choreographers: Katee Shean (S4 Winner) and Jacob Karr (S6)

Melanie Moore, 19
She seems pixieish or reminds me of someone from Everwood for some reason. Terrific moves and has this zen presence in a cool and not pretentious way.

Deon Lewsa Jr., 18
Damon Bellmon, 19
I'm not sure how far they'll go and it wasn't the most amazing Hip-Hop I've seen but the way they paired up together was a lot of fun. Cute tricks together.

Marko Germar, 22
The guy got shot but lived to dance and thank goodness because he was beautiful and I loved his vibe. Plus, always got to cheer on another Asian.

Other dancers of note: Bianka Hinklerian, 18 (fast Latin dancer), Kimalee Piedad, 27 (with shirtless partner that I noted more), and Kyré Batiste, 18 (fluid hip-hopper with grandma as a judge).

Also, a cute blonde who jumps the gun on thinking he's made it to Vegas, but then really does make it, is sadly not named, nor do we see him dance, but I'd like to see more.

Bay Area Auditions: - Choregraphers: Katee Shean and Will Wingfield (S4)


Ashley Rich, 22
LOVED LOVED LOVED HER. SO SMOOTH. SO FLUID. SO HIGH. BEAUTIFUL. Add that she seems genuinely like a sweet sweet SWEET girl with just enough zesty attitude to be cool, and I think I found my first favorite of the season.

Jeffrey McCann, 28
Way better B-Boy than Timothy (see other noted dancers below). Amazing stuff that actually looks like DANCING. I love that he's built in a performance around the b-boy moves and is totally in sync with the music. Love this guy. Hope he does well in other genres, but we won't know til Vegas! Also, very hot.

Ryan Ramirez, 18
Almost made it to the finals last year but didn't. Reminds me of Rachel Lefevre. They totally set up the clips up to think that she'll fail, but damn, she started dancing and it was beautiful and Top 20 material, and easily makes it through to Vegas.

Lilly Nguyen, 23
Only a short clip of her dancing but it seemed really artsy yet hip, and loved her response to Vegas. Cute!

Levi Allen, 19
Great musicality within his b-boy, contortionist mix. Fails at choreography but I like his chill attitude. If he got proper dance training, I could see him doing well in a few years. Of course, considering the way they filmed all the b-boys in the "hood" in the lead-up clips, gives me the impression that proper dance classes won't happen.


Other dancers of note: Amber Williams, 18 (quirky, bold and people are gonna love her for being herself but it actually just kinda annoyed me, but her lines are so straight and very strong dancer), Timothy Joseph, 21 (ok b-boy who drops out during choreography), Danielle Ihle, 18 (sob story but doesn't cover up the fact that her contemporary is very mediocre), Whitney Bezzant (has a short clip but has some nice turns in there).

A cute couple both make it to Vegas, but not much other info given.

Note to Producers: Please do not show auditions like Ieisha Moss EVER again. The former stripper with the missing front tooth. It felt mean and exploitative and was just a pure embarrassment, not just to herself, but to the show. Actually, the D'on-que Addison audition (where he breaks into mad tears, even after the dancing has stopped), just let him use the show as his "performance" art stage.


Due to my insane schedule, I may or may not blog the rest of the auditions, but I'll be back for the Top 20 and you can always follow me @tapeworthy where I'll have my less formal ramblings about #SYTYCD (and everything else).


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