Tapeworthy: So You Think You Can Dance - Auditions Week And I'm Only Talking About The Good. Not the Bad or the Ugly

So You Think You Can Dance - Auditions - Miami, FL, Memphis, TN, Los Angeles, CA, Seattle, WA - Eps. 502, 503

Last week, they actually had a pretty balanced show and actually kept the trainwreck auditions to a low. Apparently they saved them for the second week, with fewer good auditions shown in full. Well, good thing I couldn't watch it live and got to watch it with the ability of the FF button. So again, I'm not doing a thorough recap of the auditions. I can't be bothered with the bad ones.

Still, you gotta admit, the good auditions, and the moment they get their tickets to Vegas, are such feel-good moments that it's worth enduring the bad ones.

Here's simply a rundown of those with potential to be in the finals:

Miami
Guest Judge: Tyce DiOrio

Priscilla Marrero, 23, Miami, FL
She's cute and generally good but didn't wow me like she wowed the judges but she's one of those types that I think will slowly show off her real skills as the show goes on, and I'll probably come to love her.

Janette Manrara, 25, Miami, FL and Romulo Villaverde, 20, Hialeah, FL
Janette made it far last year but not sure far enough. Is it me or will the Top 20 look a lot like last years rejects? Though with this show, that's actually okay. You can learn more skills in dancing and improv over the course of a year, when technically you can do that in singing but I think it happens a lot less.

Joseph Smith, 20, Orlando, FL
A fun and sassy Hip Hop with lots of personality (in a good way). Sassy and Hip Hop? Yes. That's how I felt. Tyce was half impressed. "Schwam"

Erik "Silky" Moore, 19, Miami, Fl
Tap Dancing to "Thriller". There's a spirited presence with this kid. Like he would make a good Fame character so that we could see him grow beyond the tap to see him excel in everything else. Here's hoping we see that here!

Paris Torres , 19, Seattle, WA
Ballet. Miss Washington. To Yael Naim's cover of Britney Spears "Toxic". I thought it was going to be a disaster just from the way they hinted at the Miss Washington, except she actually she seemed normal. So which is it?

Henry Rivero, 19, Miami, FL
Megan Kinney, 18, Annapolis, MD
Alex Wong, 22, Miami, FL
Then they showed three great dancers in a quick montage, enough to see they were pretty great, but not enough to devote a segment on each of them when instead they could do the stripper, the hyperventilator, the out-of-sync-twins and so on...

Geo Smith, 21, Miami, FL
It's The Lion King but that can actually be a good thing.

Talia Rickards, 24, Miami, FL
The widower. And unlike Danny Gokey, I didn't want to smack this widower. (Even Idolatry couldn't change my opinion like it did with Matt, Scott, Megan, etc.. Danny wasn't a total douche but there was still a bit of doocheyness in him)

Memphis
Guest Judge: Lil C

Mariko Flake, 24, Memphis, TN
Reminds me of some 80's hip hop. No? And the era of the fun hip hoppers? No? Without the attitude and all that negativity? No? (Oh yah, Nigel mentions this style Memphis Jukin' was kept underwraps for 20 years). Very entertaining and I liked the positive vibes around this guy!

Caitlin Kinney, 21, Annapolis, MD
She's real pretty and blonde. She kinda reminds me of a female Travis Wall. Not very showy at this point, but it's the subtlety of the details that are her strong points. Her sister was Megan who got briefly shown earlier in the ep.

Anna Dunn, 18, Jackson, MS
Dad passed away. Dance is her outlet to deal. She deals really well, that's for sure. Another great contemporary dancer. Beautiful. Nigel notes that she moves her head TOO much in an over-choregraphed piece.

Travis Prokop, 20, Texaco, NM
He has a nice tall body with the potential for great lines. He still seems a little rough but there's potential. The judges pretty much agree that he needs to get stronger and clean up.

Evan Kasprzak, 21, West Bloomfield, MI
Ryan Kasprzak, 29, West Bloomfield, MI
I remember Evan from last year and I liked him a lot. Great Broadway, jazzy dance, cute face, great attitude. and I ove the brotherly love between him and older brother Ryan this year. Nigel praises the routine for the great choreography (by big bro!). It really is great that I had to watch it over again a few times. I think Evan needs to take over Tyce DiOrio's job (who I never really thought was a great choreographer, and as the auditions prove, is kind of annoying as a judge).
Brother Ryan is quite the tapper! And the jokester! Love these two brothers.

Lauren & Lydia Guerre, 19, Dallas, TX
The twins that were GOOD and actually synchronized. Not perfect lines but I thought it was really nice. Is this season going to be dueling brothers and sisters?

Los Angeles
Guest Judge: Adam Shankman

Bianca Revels, 20, Detroit, MI
I remember her from last year and I think I really liked her. Tapping this time and she's cool. Kinda reminds me of Karen Olivo (West Side Story and will probably win the Tony for it next week) in spirit but tapping. Mary says she's the best female tap dancer they've had. That's true? Have there even been a lot of female tappers?

Adam Shankman, 21ish, Los Angeles
It's nice to see a judge go up and show them what they've got (to join Calico Sequeira who lindy hops but doesn't make it through). And Adam has still got it! He makes it to vegas, thanks to Katee (!!!) and blackmailing Joshua (!!!).

Asuka Kondoh, 25, Irvine, CA
Ricky Sun, Arcadia, CA
More Asians!!! It feels like there's been more auditioning in these past 2 episodes than the last 4 seasons. (Yah, I know. not that much. my point exactly). And yay! They're good!!!

Then another montage of good dancers, only with no names. So uh. more nameless potentials. Is that a good sign for them?

Nathan Trasoras, 17, Downey, CA
I thought there was a moment where his line wasn't as straight as it could have been... and uh... yeah... that's about all I could rip this apart. It was sooooo beautiful and with his nice face and youthful spirit. BUT ACK!!!. He's 17. And thus not eligible until next season due to his age. ACK... Guess we know the first person in the Top 20 in Season 6 this FALL! (Or I hope so!). In the meantime, more vids at his youtube page.

Sammy Ramirez, 19, Hollister, CA
The red haired pop and locker. Really cool with the little things he does. It's intricate and clean and he has such a big smile (and reminds me SOOO much of a cutie pie friend of mine, so maybe I'm bias) that I (along with the judges) hope that he can do well in the other styles to make it through.

Amanda Kerby, 20, Riverside, Calif.
Father as MS. She's blonde and pretty in that fake blonde skinny girl way, but she dances pretty well enough and kind of reminds me of Romina D'Ugo from SYTYCD Canada (who I loved and thought was shamefully cut too early in the Top 20).

On a completely side note, I didn't realize Romina had a small role in Degrassi: TNG as a fellow Core reporter. Also, I saw Lara from SYTYCD Canada (check her out with Miles... Oh MILES!) at the same bar where I saw Tyron Leitso last night!!!

Arielle Coker, 19, Corpus Christi, TX
Phillip Chbeeb
Phillip automatically advances from last year. Too bad because his partnering with Arielle was actually pretty AMAZING. especially considering he's the pop-locker. She gets to advance because as good as he was, she melded really nicely with him.
I loved that they united their styles.

Alexie Agdeppa, 25, Rowland Heights, CA
Diana Vaden, 19, Reno, NV
Chanel Smith, 22, Pleasant Grove, UT
Another quick montage of three good dancers with just enough to show us they're good but not much else. And then they spend way too long with "Shakiro". Where's my remote? (Actually, he's odd and almost painful to watch yet not as bad as I thought he could have been. It's not GOOD but he does have some of the steps down)

Seattle
Guest Judge: Mia Michaels

Kelsea Taylor, 18, Millcreek, WA
Finally! Someone good in Seattle. After what seemed like an endless parade of joke auditions. You do gotta feel bad for the judges. Then again, isn't there a pre-audition usually? Anyways, She looks like she would be strange and pixieish in that Japanimation way. She's only 1 of 4 that make it to Vegas after day 1 in Seattle. FOUR???

2 comments:

Joe Reid4:25 p.m., May 31, 2009
Silky is my absolute favorite so far, but I definitely think this season is outpacing last in terms of auditions I'll remember come Top 20.
darci1:53 p.m., June 01, 2009
I also loved Nathan Trasoras - can't wait to see what he has in store for us next season. However, I get the feeling that the show's producers knew he was going to be awesome and also knew he was only 17, and only included him in this audition to get people excited to tune in for next season. Smart marketing move? Probably. Kind of lame though.

Anyway, none of this is Nathan's fault, as all he does is dance. And boy does he DANCE. I love the sweeping, dramatic way he dances, and I was also so happy to see that he was dancing to “Pollen and Salt” by Daphne Loves Derby that he completely won me over. There’s a clip of his audition at : http://modestcomplexity.blogspot.com/2009/05/daphne-loves-derby.html

Saturday, May 30, 2009

So You Think You Can Dance - Auditions Week And I'm Only Talking About The Good. Not the Bad or the Ugly

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