2 Hours, 2 Cities, 4 Jidges, & 47 Dancers to Vegas
I (Amanda) feel like I just went through a workout myself getting through 2 hours of auditions. There are still 2 more hours Thursday night too! A raise of hands for those ready for Vegas and Top 20 next week? Mine is raised. Throughout my viewing this evening, I was also warned several times by my local Fox station that there is some wet stuff falling from the sky a couple counties over from mine. It’s nice of them to let me know by constantly beeping and putting huge graphics at the bottom of my screen.
It certainly wasn’t raining in Miami. Cat didn’t even wear a scarf, but she did speak Spanish! This episode was certainly funnier than last week’s episode - and meaner, too. “Tyce, don’t be so mean to the dancers.” - Nigel
Dawn: Both of my hands are exuberantly raised for next week’s Vegas callbacks. Tonight’s auditions were briskly paced - I am stoked about the great dancing and sweet backstories we saw - but I’ve about had it with the dorks who clearly have no business being there. There were a few montages of painful auditions, FIVE ridiculous auditioners receiving all kinds of extra time (the talentless Miami twins who had to do 3 takes to introduce themselves? Stop the madness!!!), and a witty-but-time-filling bit on How To Audition for SYTYCD. By the time Red Dreds was whining, cussing, and balking at any kind of critique, I wanted to throw something at my t.v. All that to say, I wish I could have seen more of the good dancers. Because the good we saw tonight was go-oo-oo-OOD! (Something I’d have enjoyed hearing Tyce say every now & then.)
Amanda: There were a lot of great dancers tonight. Here are my top 5 from the evening.
1. Evan “Gene Kelly” Kasprzak is back!
A: I was really sad when he got cut last year. His dancing is better this year, but not his hair cut. It was longer and slicked back last season. I hope he can crack the Top 20. His brother is good as a sideshow, but not the main event. I think they just sent him to Vegas for a story arc.
D: The story arc certainly worked for me. These brothers had me hook, line & sinker. I haven’t seen the auditions from previous seasons, remember? These guys were new to me, and I am in love. With their talent, their charm, their styles, and Ryan’s smile. I hope they get plenty of time in next week’s Vegas eps, ’cause I want to know if Ryan can put his money where his mouth is and strut his stuff in styles not involving a whoopee cushion. No matter what, I think they’re both SO CUTE. The trolley shot at the end was a nice touch. Can you imagine one of them in that Broadway routine Gev & Courtney did last season? I can. Evan would have brought the house down with that.
2. Janette ‘”Fiery!” Manrara & Romulo “Mr. Greenhouse” Villaverde.
A: They were great, but it is hard to notice Romulo when dancing. That split jump was crazy!
D: I agree, Janette was the star in that pairing. She was cute with her faux-British accent whilst waiting outside, too. 
3. Erik “Silky” Moore.
A: Bringing Tap Back. When was tap in? It’s always a good sign when the judges say that they didn’t want the performance to end. Nice reverse worm!
D: I loved this kid.
4. Police Officer Marico “Jukin” Flake.
A: He had to be nervous dancing in front of Lil C. I really thought it was going to suck, but it didn’t! Who knew that this secret Memphis dance was so hip?
D: Not me! I might have been distracted, but I didn’t get the cop thing. Is he a real officer? He called himself the entertainment unit or something like that, so I wasn’t sure if that was part of his act. I can be kinda slow, don’t mind me. He was cool. And I liked Lil C’s judging style - what a contrast to Tyce, eh? Lil C (or “Little C”, as Nigel pronounced it) was totally respectful to everyone and offered nice bits of helpful advice that he didn’t need to.
5. Megan “ball of joy” and Caitlin “I got hip surgery and look at me!” Kinney.
A: I really liked Caitlin’s personality. Something about her just stood out to me. We didn’t see much of Megan, but she looks promising. More sister drama!
D: I liked Caitlin too. Spitting image of Rebecca DeMornay. I was intrigued by the fact that they attended two entirely different cities/auditions - Caitlyn even said it’d be a dream come true to dance with Megan. How long has it been since they’ve seen each other?
A: Okay, that was actually my top 7 from the night.
D: I was impressed with Priscilla, a Miami girl whom I could easily see in the Top 20. She was the first good audition of the night. Anna, the “diamond in the rough” whose father recently died - she could be Top 20 too. And I was totally rooting for Travis, the weak-as-a-hamster big dude with a football coach dad. I don’t think he’ll make it, but you never know!
A: Did you catch Cat shaking her booty? Yes, her mom is going to be proud. Ha! I counted 3 different scarves. How about you?
D: I forgot to check Cat’s wardrobe tonight. But I’ll confess to liking Mary’s torn up jeans on day one of the Miami auditions.
A: Finally, there were some GREAT quotes from the evening. Here are some of my favorites:
“Flush ya like a public toilet bad. Quirky, but “bAAaaa-had” - Tyce
(D: Tyce’s overreaction to everything made me want to punch him in the face. Not that I disagreed with his negative critiques!)
“After a banana and some water he is fine.” - Cat
“She almost kicked her sister in the head.” - Mary
“Sha-WAM!” “ShawizzAM!” - Joseph Smith
Not a quote but certainly funny: The girl chasing her ticket. I wrote in my notes, “Chase that ticket, Chica! LOL!”
(D: Then later, I wondered, why are the groups of Vegas-bound dancers throwing their tickets up in the air while they shout for joy? Are they given fake prop tickets? To quote Lil C, they’d better utilize their props effectively. Ha ha!)
“My mom taught me how to be a man.” - Dustin
“Your crotch is in my face.” - Sonia
“I should probably go throw up in the bathroom. But that is not my style. I need all my nutrition. ” - random dancer dude
D: Don’t forget: “I started tapping to get girls.” - Silky
A: Did you catch the Mia sighting? I am thinking she will be in either LA or Seattle tomorrow night. Can’t wait!
D: I did see Mia, and I can’t wait either. She’s legendary. I also saw a Sabra 2.0 in one of the Vegas ticket-holder groups. Tomorrow’s the LA & Seattle auditions, and next week we can finally get on with wall-to-wall talent.
What did you think about tonight’s big show, fellow fans??
Why was Tyce such a jerk?! Jeff called it when he came on, he doesn’t like him as a judge. He was the total opposite of Sonya last week, who was SO moved…Tyce was SO annoyed. Psh.
super stoked on the brothers, I actually really liked the new brother!! I think he’s better than we think he is, if he’s as versatile as he says…we’d better watch out! I love those goofy dudes, I’m so psyched to see them.
And…caught a glimpse of Mia…we have the same haircut haha! rad.
Hi Staci! Tyce was being mean last night. I think a lot of people are liking the brothers.. we will see!
I have a good feeling about Ryan, one of the Broadway brothers. I simply cannot wait to find out what happens with them in Vegas.
For real, I have always like Tyce’s personality and choreography so last night I wondered who had possessed his body? He actually seemed like he was working hard to be like Simon Cowell, but it just wasn’t working.
I think I have found two girls I will be pulling for - Janette Manrara and Anna Dunn (finally a contemporary dancer that doesn’t leave me scracthing my head saying “What was that?”). And one guy - Evan Kasprzak (hooray for a truly masculine male dancer!). The other Kasprzak brother was also good (minus the large pit stains), but I doubt I could ever feel passionately for a tapper. Something about the cute twin sisters near the end of the show was also endearing.
Another noteworthy dancer was Priscilla Marrero, but is it just me, but I kept waiting for her to go Tatiana Deltorro (from Idol) on us??
And Dawn, I thought the exact same thing about the Sabra look alike. I actually double-taked to see if it was her!
BenjiForever,
I agree…I was waiting to Priscilla to let out a laugh a la Tatiana Deltorro!!! I’m interested to see how she does!
One thing that I have noticed is that we haven’t seen a lot of hip hop dancers. Or am I just missing them among all the contemporary and tap dancers? Maybe it’s just me….
Can’t wait to see MIA!!!! Whoop!!