So You Think You Can Dance 5/28- The Final Auditions of Season 5

Note: This is the abridged recap. For the full version, head over to sytycd.ca

Hey folks, Nate here again. Tonight’s our last audition show for season 5, so lets hope for some talent. I’m not gonna lie folks, it was a long and arduous day at work, so this recap might not be entirely up to snuff. It may be sorely lacking in witticisms and various other bon mots. Lets hope it’s good though, just like tonight’s auditions.

LA
We start out tonight in LA. Cat seems her usual perky self. She even says “Gangstah” at one point. Joining Nigel and Mary tonight is Shankers. Shankers, you may be a terrible film director (Really, Bedtime Stories?), but I like you as a SYTYCD judge. Also, in the audience are Comfort and Joshua from last season.

Bianca Revels- She was that awesome female tapper from last season who made it to the end of Vegas but got shut down. She’s back again this year. She seems affable. She’s dancing without music, which makes a certain amount of sense for a tapper. She’s awesome, and apparently, this is just the year for tap on SYTYCD. She gives good face, is energetic, and connects with the judges. She gets a standing ovation from all three judges. Nigel thinks she’s everything that he loves about tap and calls her the consummate tap dancer. Mary thinks she’s brilliant, and calls her the best female tapper the show has ever had, and Shankers hopes to see very big things from her. She goes straight through to Vegas.

Unnamed Zaftig Female Dancer- She’s bad. I don’t know why we’re watching her, but Nigel makes a good comment about her needing to find moves and lines that fit her body shape. She’s also apparently a very orthodox jew, which would cause problems. Shankers talks about dancing and connection to God, and know I totally know why they showed this actually.

Calico Sequeira- She’s a swing dancer, and she’s 30 so this is her last season to try out. It seems pleasant. Yeah, I’d call it pleasant. Nigel says it was enjoyable to watch but looked like social dancing. Mary also thought it was entertaining. Shankers thought it had no presentational quality. Nos across the board. But then she invites Shankers on stage to dance with her because it seemed fun.

Adam “Shankers” Shankman- Shankers age is listed as “21ish”, which is kind of great. Also kind of great? Shankers himself. He’s graceful, good lines and footwork. He may even be a little too good, which makes me wonder if this is all staged. Nigel and Mary then call Katee (who has miraculously appeared in the audience), Josh, Comfort, and Lauren to the judging table to evaluate Shankers. Katee, proving herself to be funny as well as a good dancer, asks him how much he wants this. Joshua then starts to critique, before Shankers cuts him off reminding him that he was the one who put him through. Shankers is then sent straight through to Vegas. Honestly, this may have been my favorite moment of all the audition shows.

Ricky Sun and Asuka Kondoh- Asoka made it to the end of Vegas but didn’t get through. They’re hoping to make it just as far this year, if not farther. Their footwork is great, but Ricky’s connection with Asuka could be stronger. She’s much better, despite him seemingly making it as much about him as possible. She’s really good though. Nigel says Asuka steals the limelight and calls her stunning, but Ricky holds his own really well, and calls him absolutely excellent. Mary calls it absolutely breathtaking, and found herself coming back to Ricky. Shankers says Asuka stole his focus 100%. Both go straight through to Vegas.

Nathan Trasoras- He almost quit dancing because he was being bullied. He’s really good, great muscle control, great pirouettes, and he also manages to connect with both the judges and the music. And it’s especially impressive because he’s only 17. Which is too young to be on the show. Shankers calls him pretty beepin impressive. Mary says extraordinary. Nigel says his center is one of the best they’ve had on the program. Nigel says that if he DOESN”T come back next year, the judges are gonna hunt him down. Nigel gives him a direct ticket to Vegas for season 6. That’s how impressive he is.

Sammy Ramirez- He was a wrestler, and Cat does a pro wrestling move. Honestly, Cat Deeley, you are just unabashedly awesome. The guy who got Sammy into dance is in prison now, so it’s kind of a tribute. Wow, speaking of unabashedly awesome, this guy is definitely my favorite breaker that we’ve seen so far. His muscle control, hell his skin control, is just phenomenal. He’s smooth (well, as smooth as popping can be), and it’s just tons of fun to watch. Shankers loves him so much too and his fingers are so crossed that this guy gets through choreography. Nigel loves his smile, and his hair choreography. He gets a wholehearted yes to choreography.

Philip Chbeeb- He doesn’t even have to audition, because he goes straight to Vegas. He was supposed to go last year, but got pneumonia. But he’s not done, because he’s auditioning with…

Arielle Coker- She met Phil because he drove her to the hospital when her mom was in there. They seem really sweet. Her routine with Phil is really great. And they seem awfully coupley. It doesn’t showcase her dancing all that much. She also over performs a little bit. Really, it’s kind of impossible to not focus on Phil. I’d say he’s a top 20 lock this year, like Twitch was last year. Nigel thinks she didn’t stick out like a sore thumb, which indicates she’s good. Mary also thinks she’s a good dancer. Shankers loves that she brought out the better dancer in Phil. She’s straight to Vegas.

Choreography Day 2 (We didn’t see day 1): Sammy Ramirez makes it to Vegas. Is it wrong of me to say absolute Yay?

SEATTLE
Judges: Nigel, Mary, and Mia Michaels. Hooray Mia Michaels!

Seattle is raining. Shocker!

Kelsea Taylor- Finally, Seattle shows promise. She’s got that weirdly awesome demented thing that Mark from last season had. Nigel says Sonja would love her, which only makes the comparison between her and Mark stronger in my mind. I actually love this. Definitely one of my favorite auditions of the whole season. Nigel calls her zany, slightly crazy, and likes her a lot. Mary loved the musicality and wanted to see more and noted that she didn’t show her weaknesses. Mia calls her a beautiful, disasterous, weirdo, but in the best ways possible. I love Mia critiques. She goes to choreography.

Choreography Day 1: Kelsea goes to Vegas. Note, only FOUR dancers made it to Vegas from Day 1. Yikes, Seattle must have really sucked after all.

Leonid Knyshov (I think) – His idea of dancing appears to be entirely lifted from Dance Dance Revolution. There’s no energy whatsoever. I hate auditions like this. Nigel calls it on its similarity to jumpstyle, in that it’s just really bad. Nigel says it’s like he was at a rave, Mary said it reminded her of three to four year olds jumping and twirling. Mia suggests a battle between him and sex, to which Leonid greatly says “Oh God No.” Unfortunatley, Sex is game for it.

SIDE NOTE: If FOX keeps up this amount of heavy advertising for Glee, I really fear it could turn viewers off. Give it a rest, and a big push come mid-august, FOX.

The Battle: Sex vs. Leonid- Is it possible to actively root against both sides in a battle? I mean, one has to win, right? Is it too much to hope that somehow they both manage to lose and never come back to the show? Cat calls this the ultimate dance battle, and if I were Robert Muraine or Phil Chbeeb, I would find this insulting considering their dance off last season finale. Apparently, Sex wins round one, round two is a draw, and Leo wins round three, because sex ran out of stamina (ZING!). Mia names Leo as her winner, Mary picks Leo, and Nigel picks Sex. Nigel asks Leo if he’s willing to call it a draw, but Leo will take the win, thank you very much. Nigel actually suggests Sex go to the choreography round, which I would consider a slap in the face if I was sent to the choreography round. Mary acquiesces, but Mia, expressing sanity, says no. But he’s going to choreography.

Choreography Day 2: Sex is thankfully not going anywhere near Vegas. Kupa (see full recap), however, is going to Vegas.

Well, that’s it for the auditions this year. Next week is Vegas, where you can make it or break it. I’m hoping for some Nomi Malone style breakout stars (“You have more natural talent than I’ve ever seen! Ever!”) The choreographers seem to bringing it, the judges seem to be bringing the bitchy, and lets hope the dancers the awesome too. See you guys next week!

So You Think You Can Dance 5/27- Miami and Memphis Move their Moneymakers

NOTE: Last week, Spot (from sytycd.ca) pointed out that posting the same recap both here and at sytycd.ca may cause problems with Google. So here’s the deal folks, what you’ll find here is the ABRIDGED recap. Then, with the full recap, you can find that over at So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 Social. Sound good folks?

Welcome back folks, for another great edition of the SYTYCD auditions shows! Tonight we’re hitting up Miami and Memphis. In honor of SYTYCD’s city alliteration, I’m hoping for some banoodles breakers, beyond crazy ballroom couples, consummate contemporaries, lovely lyricals, tremendous tappers, hard-hitting hip-hoppers, jaw-dropping jazz dancers, and just judges.

Miami
Priscilla Marrero- She is Spanish, but that is about all I catch from her audition package. However, her dancing is fantastic, she knows how to PERFORM, which is key, and her quality of movement is just great. She knows how to connect with her audience. I can see her in the top 10. She’s been dancing for a long time, and it’s who she is. Nigel loved her, Mary calls her over-the-top wonderful, and Tyce says it made him happy to be a dancer and it does something to him. Maybe that’s what those pseudo-orgasmic noises he was making during her audition were.

On a serious question, though, have they been telling the guest judge to be an over-the-top character like Nigel and Mary? B/c between Sonja and Tyce, they are acting a bit too over-the-top. I tend to like the guest judge because they’re much more reasonable. But, depending on the judges schtick (Yay- Mia, Sonja, the inevitable Shankers, Nay- Tyce), this could get agitating.

Jeanette Manrara and Romulo Villaverde- They auditioned last season, she made it to the end of Vegas week, and got rejected. He didn’t even make it through to Vegas. Well, here’s that beyond-crazy ballroom couple I was looking for. They are sultry, their footwork is very impressive, as is the backflip/split they have. They seem to labor for a second every so often, but they are very very good. Nigel loved it, Mary Murphy screams and loves her sexy strength. The flip split put Tyce over the top. Mary threatens to kill Nigel if they don’t go to Vegas, and, fearing for his life, they go straight through to Vegas

Wislande Letang- She is nervous. And awful. She comes close to flashing the judges, repulses Tyce, and is just generally not even deserving of a recap. But I do this for you, readers. Mary had no idea what just happened, makes a backhanded reference to Nigel’s sexism in that she was clearly only dancing for him. Nigel says she had no style or enthusiasm. Tyce says he was shocked, but Wislande correctly calls him on actually looking disgusted. She’s kind of got him there.

Eric “Silky” Moore- He’s a tapper, and also knows hip-hop. He knows tap is a dying art, and he’s trying to bring it back. He’s dancing to Thriller. He’s really good. Fluid, fantastic footwork, knows how to perform, and you can almost see the infusions of hip-hop into the tap. Plus, there’s an awesome moonwalk and worm. So, between him and Peter Sabasino, there better be a tapper in our top 20. He was simply awesome. Nigel tells him that it was great, started slow, but got great. Mary wanted to keep watching him. Tyce found it totally inspiring from the start. He goes straight through to Vegas. Deservedly.

Paris Torres- She was Miss Washington. She entered pageants because of dance. She also has the most preposterous blue eyes, that I’m sure they must be contact fakes. It’s a very pretty ballet-esque routine. I say esque because I’m pretty sure it’s not only ballet and it’s also choreographer to a remix of Toxic by Britney spears. Certainly enjoyable, but I wouldn’t necessarily put her straight through to Vegas. Nigel found it very good indeed, Mary loved her lines and limbs, and Tyce thought it was great but she was too focused on her lower limbs. It’s a 2-1 vote but she gets straight though to vegas.

Henry Rivero, Megan Kinney, Alex Wong- They are all lumped in a montage of good contemporary. I wish we could have seen Megan and Alex’s full auditions. All make it straight through to Vegas. But, seriously, these guys get 20 second each but crappy Tony (see full recap for his blurb) gets like 5 minutes?

Thalia Rickett (I think, this may be the wrong name)- She met her husband at age 14, married at 18, and became a widow at 22. Really sad backstory, and, despite the shades of Danny Gokey in this backstory, I’m rooting for her. It’s her first audition in 2 years, and she has the attitude and hits her hip-hop moves hard, but the technique seems a little lacking. Nigel accurately points out how often she pulls her face and didn’t see enough there for him. Mary calls it fiery, but didn’t see the substance, despite seeing potential. Tyce thought the energy was good, but it was lacking in hip-hop technique. Nigel fakes her out before sending her to choreography.

Choreography Day 2: Geo (see full recap) makes it to Vegas, as does, surprising no one, Thalia.

MEMPHIS
Mariko Flake (also might be the wrong name)- He’s a police officer, and patrols the entertainment district. He does Memphis juking, which is all about bounce and smoothness. Well, in his video package, his is impressive. His actual audition is no less so. Ridiculous body control and footwork. I can totally see the bounce and smoothness in there. Best breaker-ish dancer the show has had yet. Nigel loved it, Lil’ C enjoyed it, and Mary thought he had it all going on. She points out that juking is usually in the feet, but he made them watch it all. They toy with him before putting him straight through to Vegas.

Christopher Corroza- He seems like a douche. His style is called “Electric” and it apparently is a little bit of him stealing everything. But is, in actuality, hopping in a bellbottoms like I’m sure he does at Burning Man every year. Nigel calls it EuroPop/Rave Party and then says it doesn’t show if he’s a dancer or not. This guy is a total douche. He wasted their time, doesn’t want to hear criticism, and then tells the judges they’re being overly critical. Total, total douche.

Caitlin Kinney- She is the sister of Megan Kinney (who I wanted more of earlier). And she is beautiful to watch. She does an amazing cartwheel backflip, some great leaps, and a very impressive routine (Can you tell I have my technical vocabulary down pat?). She also ands in a ridiculous upside down warrior-pose type thing. Nigel calls her absolutely phenomenal for having only danced for five years. She’s also had a hip reconstruction surgery, and Mary calls this her destiny for having come back from that. Lil’ C calls her captivating and she gave him chills. She goes straight to Vegas.

Anna Dunn- Her father killed himself a little over a year ago. She’s been getting through it via dance. It’s her outlet to express herself. I really wanna see her succeed. I really like her dancing, but something about her face doesn’t seem to sync up with the movement. She almost looks too pleased for the movements she’s doing, which seem to tell a story of being broken. Nigel calls her over-choreographed and tells her to calm it down because they need to get feeling from her, but ultimately he calls her tremendous. Mary loved everything except for the constant head movements, calling her a diamond in the rough. Lil’ C tells her to connect with the pain when she dances, and it’s probably the best critique he’s given all episode. She goes to choreography.

Evan Kasprzak – Evan made it to the end of Vegas last year and got cut. If I remember, he was one of those “WTF How did he get cut?” guys like Brandon Bryant. And this audition totally reminds me of why. He’s just simply fantastic. Totally reminiscent of Gene Kelly/Fred Astaire. Here’s my jaw-dropping jazz dancer. Nigel calls it absolutely superb, Mary loves seeing him again but worries America won’t get him, Lil’ C calls it positively amazing. They seem worried about his versatility, but he still goes straight to Vegas.

Ryan Kasprzak- He’s Evan’s brother, an a tapper, but he’s got experience in tons of other styles. He’s tapping with a whoopee cushion, so I’m automatically a fan. He’s got great comedy, footwork, uses the prop really well. This is a very good season for tap so far. Nigel calls it terrific and lots of fun. Mary calls it pure, pure entertainment. Lil’ C says it was an amazing solo and positively delightful. He goes straight through to Vegas just like Lil’ bro.

Choreography Day 2: Anna Dunn goes to Vegas, Travis goes to Vegas, and both Guerra sisters go to Vegas as well. (See full recap for the sisters and Travis)

So, it seems like this episode was all about siblings and tap. There were certainly a lot of promising contestants. And I will see you back here tomorrow for our final two cities, LA and Seattle. Viva la SYTYCD!

This Redeems The Past Two Seasons of Heroes… Kinda

So, the past two seasons of Heroes, have, with the minor exception here and there, basically sucked. They had too many characters, focused too narrowly on the three or four they thought most appealed to audiences (Newsflash: They didn’t. Peter Petrelli will always be a whiny tool to me), and just lost the idea that a show has to have a distinct narrative thread. But, this video, to me, almost makes the past two seasons of Heroes worth all of that. Comedic (And somewhat NSFW) glory embedded below:



So, yeah, that’s all kinds of awesome. There’s apparently one for Supernatural out there too, but seeing as I’m still stuck in the middle of the first season of Supernatural (It’s the new show that I’m trying to work my way through multiple back seasons of. Worth it, readers?), I can’t judge whether or not it’s better. Credit to the awesome io9 (Gawker’s Sci-Fi blog) for posting this video. I’m not sure it fully redeems the past two seasons of Heroes, but it sure makes the failed potential somewhat more palatable.