So You Think You Can Dance Episode Recap and My Take – Season 6, Audition 5 (New Orleans)
Sorry I am posting later than usual! I had out of town guests and had to catch up after they left.
The guest judges for New Orleans were Adam Shankman and Lil C, Nigel was not able to be there.
Straight to Vegas
We saw numerous tidbits of people who seemed to have skill but I am not sure where any of them ended up.
Shelby “Skip” Skipper (Hip-Hop “New Orleans Bounce”) – Really cool. He has amazing movement control and it was so unique. Not sure if he will be able to manage other stuff. Mary said he has a lot of energy and that she has never seen it before but she loved it. Adam claimed he was an expert in it, not, but commented on his commitment, drive and strength. Lil C commented on the show exposing new dance styles and said it was buck.
Jonathan Litzler (Contemporary) – He also has a background in Hip-Hop and ballet, as well as acrobatics. He did a cool air walk backflip. His arms struggled in places as far as I am concerned, but other than that I thought he was really good. Adam said it was one of the best auditions he has ever seen, and that the strength and control was really good. Lil C said it was a perfect blend of weight, energy, space and time…it looked effortless. Mary said gorgeous, breathtaking, fabulous.
Alison Nance (Contemporary) – We didn’t see all of her performance, but she seemed to be really good. Mary said fabulous lines and that she is a real firecracker, and that she thinks she is really good.
Calvin Turner, Jr. (Contemporary) – We didn’t see all of his performance either, but they did show a really high leap. Lil C said it was beautiful and that he lived in the song.
Edward Spots (Contemporary) – Yet another person they didn’t show all of, he seemed incredibly strong. Adam said he is an extraordinary dancer.
Kimalee Piedad (Theatre Arts) – Her partner chose not to compete. Theatre Arts is my least favorite form of Ballroom, it is all about tricks and does not involve enough dancing for my taste, though the tricks are usually cool. That being said, she is really good, her strength is amazing, and the lifts were really beautiful pictures. She uses he legs really beautifully. I will say that is the most I have ever enjoyed that style. Mary thought it was terrific. Lil C said it was interesting and graceful. Adam said it was stunning and that he is curious as to what other styles she does. She said she was trained in ballet (which shows), and a little bit of everything.
Jakob Karr (Contemporary) – He was amazing. He made beautiful use of his legs, such great control and some leaps that floored me. I didn’t want him to stop, just so fabulous. Mary screamed and said it was fantastic. Adam said he freakin rocked and that his strength, elevation and everything were absolutely amazing. Lil C said phenomenal and that he is amazed.
Through to Choreography
The choreography round this season for auditions is a Latin dance with Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis from Season 3.
Day 1 – On Day 1 19 people made it through to choreography.
Eric Le Blanc (Hip-Hop) – They needed to keep him away from the energy drinks, he had 6! I bet he is fun at a dance club, but he is not good enough for a competition. He’s funny though. Adam asked how he felt about it and he said very dizzy. Mary said he is a fun guy and Lil C commended him on showing his passion. I think they put him through for the entertainment value. I think he lost steam, he did not get put through.
Justin Kenney (B-boying) – He has thos big holes in his ears, which always really bothers me. He did some cool downrock moves, and was on one hand for ages. Not sure if he can do ballroom, but he has tons of energy. Mary said he took it to a whole other level. Lil C thought it was solid and impressive. Adam said he rocked it. He tried really hard, I will give him that, but you could tell he was out of his element. But they took a gamble and put him through.
11 others from day one also made it through to Vegas.
Day 2 – On Day 2 37 people made it through to choreography.
Micah Mixon (Popping/Locking) – He is really unique and has a lot of personality. He needs to lose some of the dead space he had at the beginning. Mary asked if he had any formal training because he had a great repertoire especially the floating he did. Adam said it felt fresh despite it being mostly stuff they have seen before. Lil C said he has a wonderful base hit coming from his core and a great balance between his knees and chest. Way out of his element, though he did really try I think. They said no but asked him to keep it up and that if he does he can go really far.
Diana Drexler (Contemporary) – She was fighting through a lot of emotion because she lost her grandfather while away for auditions. Nothing that floored me technique-wise, though her technique was not bad at all, but she was so connected to the emotion of her performance and put her whole self into it. Mary said it seemed effortless and had a beautiful quality. Adam said she didn’t let her pain affect the lightness of her step and that he thinks she was beautiful. They put her through.
17 others from day one also made it through to Vegas.
12 dancers from Day 1 and 18 dancers from Day 2 got tickets to Vegas after the choreography round.
DIDN’T MAKE IT THROUGH
Not necessarily scary, but not good enough to compete…
Lloyd Ballard (???) – We only saw part, but that was enough, it was bad.
Tierney St. John (???) – She did a move where she walked backwards looking like she was in a straight jacket, just odd…
Casey Crisosto (???) – He mostly grabbed himself.
There was so much bad going on that Mary decided to present her rules of what not to do to the remaining people, with demonstration from Adam. Adam was pretty funny.
1. Hats pulled down over eyes
2. Reaching out to nowhere
3. Rubbing parts of your body too much
4. Men’s booty shaking
JUST PLAIN SCARY AND/OR WEIRD
Thank goodness we were once again shown none of this!!!
Next up—Utah (with Mia as the 3rd judge)
