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!