ATL.

As they've said in many a season's clip's before this one, "Welcome to the Dirty South, y'all!" There are always a mess of good dancers in the southern states, so let's see what Season 6's southerners have to offer! The intro clips definitely look promising...a breaker going down steps on one hand?! Awesome, this should be good! And it looks even better with Lil' C on the judging panel. He's always way better in the auditions than on the actual show, even though I love him pretty much all the time anyways. So here we go:

Billy Bell – I’m always worried when they do a package with them in the audition city and not at home. Ok well it looks like I shouldn’t be worried. He clearly has technique, but to me the audition doesn’t progress that much. It was a little flailing. Definitely worthy of Vegas though. Yep, there he goes, although it was very oddly edited and I didn't really know what to make of the judges comments. I’m indifferent to this guy, not sure what he would bring to the show.

Amber Jackson – Ok she’s like a yoga master in the first move. Very muscular. Martha/ Chelsea Traile esque. Boring audition because she basically didn’t have any personality, which Nigel slammed her about 3 seconds into his critique. I’m loving Mary’s use of the word “dancability” haha. She has to prove herself in choreo…and she does. They must already know here because she really didn't show me anything tonight. Perhaps she will in Vegas!

And now a reel of boring people. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…sorry, I just fell asleep. In that time they could have shown a good audition. I'm just saying. 

Travis Dennison – He was the mic man at UGA football games? Looks pretty shitty at that and I don’t think his dancing will be any better. Is he auditioning for the all-male Bring It On? Hahaha, he’s not even blinking. Oh wow, they’re calling him the hip hop Adam Shankmann. As Nigel says “good social fun” but clearly not right for the show. Cut, as it should be

Jamal Jackson – powerful dancer, danced to African music. Very graceful as well. Good lines! I wish they would have shown more of that audition!

Victor Smalley – Mohawked contemporary dancer. Very powerful, reminds me of a stronger Travis. Looks like he had major knee surgery or at least a very noticeable scar. Great center. I like him a lot, but I'm not sure why! 

The Hart twins – Antwan and Anthony! I swear one of them needs to make it this year! Love that they’re auditioning together again! Watching their initial audition back in Season 4 with Anna and Shelby was one of my favorite auditions ever on the show. Of course there is no mention of them auditioning and making it almost to the green mile in Season 5, but oh well. OMG they are soooo much better than they ever were before! So fun and creative! Twists, turns, humor, I love everything about this audition. They need to be in the top 20 - maybe they could see how successful brothers are in "Top Chef" and have their own set of brothers!! They seem to lean towards Antwon in the critiquing. We’ll see. Wtf, they’ve been to Vegas twice already, why do they need to go to choreo? Anthony is in Vegas and Antwon is not? Mad at Nigel. VERY MAD. Anyone know what happened to their younger brother who was also in Vegas last year?

After Day 1 in Atlanta, it also looks like Romulo (Janette's partner) and Eric Silky Moore the tapper are also headed to Vegas again! They must have exhausted the tap auditions because I would have really liked to see Silky dance again! Good luck to them both in Vegas!

Now, on to Day 2:

Boogie Links aa Matthew Pollard – Um what? Who says “single and ready to mingle”? Clearly he just wants his 5 minutes of fame, why must you give it to him producers??? WHY?! Ok crap he is decent at popping. Maybe made more impressive/entertaining by the fact that he is kinda tall. His head is also really small. Definitely not good enough for Vegas, maybe they’ll put him in choreography. And they do. He’s pretty awkward and has no kinda rhythm, hence no Vegas. Sorry buddy.

Jessica Jensen – This girl is really inspirational. She had a really rare form of soft tissue cancer that kept growing, so she had to amputate her hand to have any chance at surviving. It was only a year and a half ago, wow. She is adorable, and I really want her to be good. She’s alright, but nothing more than average in my opinion, at least in terms of her technical dancing skills. Her turns aren't very fluid and her lines aren't what they could be. They put her through to choreography, so we’ll see what happens when she dances with a partner. She looks uncomfortable and is not picking it up at all. No Vegas for her. Sad L but she says she’ll audition again. Good attitude! I hope she does come back, it's truly amazing what she is able to do.

Jonathan Bryant – Changed his stage name to “Extra”. Ok already don’t like him. What kind of dancing is this? Hip hop? I don't even know. His clothes also look like they are falling off. Ew gross, get of the stage. Lil C says he has no control of his movements. And now he’s fighting with the judges, bad move buddy. And Nigel is putting him in his place. And now he’s crying. Boo. Go home. And that’s where he’s heading.

Thomas Hamilton – Well they did a shot of him at home, which they wouldn’t waste time on if he wasn’t good. Born a crack baby, given into his aunt’s care at birth. His mom is still a drug addict. He says he needs a way out of Georgia. Very powerful music, also very good dancing. Reminds me of Will but with pointed toes instead of flexed. Not showing enough dancing in his audition. Nigel called his dancing “praise dancing” and said he didn’t show anything to the audience in the second half but the first part was great. No big surprise that Nigel wants to see him do the choreo, but I assume if he’s been in Mia’s classes as they say he has, he’ll be great. Looks good, and he’s off to Vegas. Shocking. Sounds like they definitely know this guy. 

After Day 2's choreography, the girl who was last one out of Season 5's Top 20 is going to Vegas as well. I forgot her name and am feeling much to lazy to look it up right now so I won't. And with that and a yawn, I bid you good night!

Beantown Auditions!

What a coincidence that Boston auditions are the day after the tour hit Boston! Oh wow, I am a dork as usual. And I really want to go to the tour...

Haha I like the group worm in line! Never seen that before. Sweet. Tyce as guest judge always makes for some funny comments, facial expressions, and insults of course. 

Here we go Boston!!

 Teddy Tedhome - We've already seen him in Season 5's preview package. And he's adorable in his yellow plaid pants (that his mommy bought for him). As he says, he is "whimsical". I love love love his quirky style. He's like a Pixar cartoon or something! Never seen anything like it. And ps, love the song. As my roomie put on her facebook status: I wonder if Jason Mraz ever realized how popular his songs would be with SYTYCD hopefuls? I totally agree with Mary that his audition was so CLEVER! He definitely stands out and was even better than I remembered!

Gene Lloret - He's starting out with some little salsa steps! Wow this kids like defies gravity with his breaking moves! He's a lot like Gev in his style...kinda freaks you out with some of the stuff he does! Judges were super impressed and didn't even talk to him after, they just handed him tickets. He didn't even know they were to Vegas! I'm thinking he's not trained in anything else though, but it'd be awesome if he proved me wrong because his solos would be awesome in the Top 20!

Kimara Wood - very powerful dancing! Kinda like what Vitolio should have been like. 

Channing Cooke - She totally reminds me of Kherington with the cute face and "tomboy" vibe! An ice cream scooper, how cute is that?!?!?! And she looks like Kristen Bell?? I hope she's good because I like her already! Well, her beach gymnastics look great I think she'll do great! Very lovely movements but sometimes a little too literal for me, although that is a weird pet peeve of mine so I can't hold it against her too much. She seems like the kind of dancer that can grow a TON on this show. Good audition, she's going to choreography...I agree I guess. I'm sure she'll be fine. And she is! Vegas!

Ryan Casey - Wow this guy is TALL! 6'8''?! So unheard of for a dancer! Ok, so he's a tapper, that fits. Love the fast tapping to funky music. For such a tall guy his movements are very precise! Pretty impressed actually. There are some awkward tall guy moments, but overall great audition! He would not work with a partner though, let's be honest. Off to choreo...good effort, but no Vegas. Just as well, partnering would be horrible for him and a girl any shorter than 6'3''!

Russell Ferguson - A Krumper! Yay! Kalyn must be freaking out right now! Love the music, great movements. I really liked that! He's trained in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and African? Ok this guy is a stud. Hahaha Nigel! Have you ever fused Krump and Tap? It's called Krap! HA. ZING! Off to choreo, figures! Well he must be a carpenter because he nailed it! Vegas! Can't wait to see more of him!

Breeze (Fabrizio Jenkins) - Popping. Kind of. Pretty much staying in one place but he has some good moves. And he fell over? Can't tell if that was on purpose or not. Hahaha, Nigel called him out and he totally did! Covered that very well at least. I agree with Tyce that if he trained he could be really good. And there he goes to choreo but with a bum ankle. To be fair to his partner he bows out of the competition. Good luck to you, buddy. 

Karen and Matthew Hower - Wow they're married?! Haven't seen too much of that, it's cute! Cool little hip hop ballroom number. They are so relaxed and flowing, I like it. Great turns! I would have like to have seen a lift or two, but other than that, great routine. I loved the ending. Karen is totally Jennifer Lopez hot, Mary! Good call! Awkward edit...Vegas! First husband/wife team to make it there!

Gene Berston - "I specialize in Latin styles. The sexy dance." Kinda weird that he's dancing alone though. Well he's got some moves. Unfortunately he reminds me too much of Jonathan for me to really be a fan. Sorry Jonathan. And sorry Gene. I'm sure they're going to make him do choreo so they can see that he can dance with a partner. And they do, but not before he rips open his shirt. And he's fine with that and off to Vegas. 

Paul Magliotto - Ok well he's weird in his package, so I'm sure this is going to be absurd. He has a "movement invention"...dear lord. He's also way to old for the competition. Sorry buddy, but WHAT are you doing? Shuffling around the stage attempting some rudimentary interpretive dance? Oh man, the turns are priceless though. Why do they show this crap? Blah. He's out. Shocking!

Weirdo reel + Tyce = awesome. "It looks like constipation. You gotta get rid of that. "

 Kevin Hunte/ K Bez - He apparently auditioned in Season 3? Hmmmm...he's whatever to me. Nothing special but not like he's bad. He is mostly just staying in the center of the stage and moving his legs around. I don't know. He says he's studied contemporary since he auditioned last time. Nigel liked his musicality and popping, but it was just "good" not "great". Tyce was a little harsh because he didn't show enough growth. Ok so they're sending him to choreo which is fair. And he does a good job and is going to Vegas. Hope he improves on that though, otherwise his trip will be very short. 

And that's all for tonight...3 more weeks of auditions, 3 more weeks of Vegas/ get to know the Top 20, and then it begins! Oh wow that is literally an eternity. At least we have GLEEEEEEEE! G'nite!

Phoenix...like Dumbledore's bird!

Very excited about some more auditions this evening! Especially because they're in Phoenix with Mia Michaels and because they inspired this picture! Yet another reason why I love Liza and Finney. 

It's been slightly hard to get as into this season so far, probably because Season 5 just ended, but I appreciate them spreading things out a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I am DYING to see the new Top 20, but this way it at least they're building some anticipation, right?!

Wow, even the theme music gets me all fired up! 

Brandon/ Shorty and Demitrio/ Biggy - We're starting with an interesting little duo here. Well, they're better than I thought considering Biggy's intro ended with him saying "We're going to move the floor" and then he jumped and they did the cheesy "boinggggg" sound effect. They're not exactly sharp in their popping, but it's not like they are completely unskilled. It was cute and you could see how much fun they were having, but I don't see it as choreo round-worthy. Judges didn't agree with me. We'll see how they do!

Sasha Mallory - She's crying already? Oh man. Don't get me wrong, I'm a crier...all the montages, all the goodbye songs, etc. but girl, it's been 3 seconds of screen time. She is cute though. I'm not sure how I feel about the chair (or props in general), especially when sometimes it seems like she is dancing to the chair as it's a person. She does have a good quality of movement though and is definitely skilled enough to make it straight through to Vegas. 

Katie Muth and Ellie Soto - both make it straight through to Vegas, but we don't see much of their auditions. For some reason Katie Muth looks really familiar to me!! 

Allison Becker - OK you can not help but root for this girl! Spinal meningitis left her deaf, which as she said was the best possible outcome for her because her doctors said she'd either be blind, deaf, or die as a child. She's cheery and adorable and I really want her to be good...and yay! She is! It wasn't particularly powerful, but she has technique for sure and she emotes very well. The judges were all touched and impressed, as they should have been. Mia told her that she is very inspired by music as a dancer/ choreographer and asked Allison what her inspiration was to which she replied "It's music as well, I just hear it differently." Ah! I love her! Nigel asked how she thought she would do in choreography and she said, "I'd do great". Thankfully she did and she's going to Vegas! 

William and Jacob - This same sex ballroom couple met in line for Season 2 auditions! So cute! Right off the bat they are way better than the couple that auditioned last season. They're not about being showy, they're about the dancing. Both of them have good lines, pointed toes and fluid movement. Nigel wisely admitted for the camera that they showed him that same sex ballroom can be very good and put them both through to choreography. From the clips they showed, both looked good, and I assume they both made it to Vegas (they didn't say for sure). 

Jonathan Noronha - Oh no, he has sticks. And he's skipping around the stage. And he dropped one. And that was on purpose. Oh wait, now he's dropped the sticks and he's holding up cards with letters that spell DISCO, but instead of the "O" it's Mary's face. Why??? This is a waste of air time, sorry buddy. 

Jarvis Johnson - Well, they're been promoting him as a screamer, so we'll see how this goes. He is clearly. very. excited. He says he'll do a back flip if he makes it to Vegas...I don't think that is going to happen though. He's kinda dancing, but the like the kind you do at a middle school dance. He'd probably be a ton of fun to dance with at a club or something because he has SO MUCH ENERGY! He did a really cute thing where he literally danced out of his shoes! After a split between Mia and Mary, Nigel reluctantly puts him through to the choreo round but says that if he doesn't pick it up quickly, he'll be asked to leave. He ends up having an asthma attack during the practices though, but everything's fine and he leaves in good spirits. What a cute kid :)

Brandon Gordon and Nicole Peterson - Big ogre-ish looking guy and short girl in a pink tutu. They do a lift that looks impressive because he's so big and she's so small. That's about it. 

*Insert weirdo clip reel here* Not that funny, not gonna lie. 

Kelsey White - Cute and blonde, pretty typical for Arizona! She's good, but seems to fall out of center on her turns. Nothing impressive, but definitely good enough for choreography. Nigel agrees (from backstage because he walked off when she joked that she had once been kidnapped by aliens). She is just blah in the choreography round though, so they won't be taking her to Vegas. 

Jonathan "Legacy" Perez - Is he the best BBoy ever on SYTYCD? Not in my opinion (I prefer Dominic and Gev personally), but he seems to be getting pimped on the websites a lot. He had amazing height on his jumps, but I didn't think his head spins were very good. Good body spins though. Apparently he assisted Lauren with choreography last season though, so he must know how to do plenty of other things. I guess he can prove himself to me in Vegas though because he's going straight there. 

Next week is Boston and these clips seem amazing! Hopefully they continue to show good auditions and lay off the joke auditions! I like this trend. 

Since I'm posting this way after the fact, I also have to add how impressed I was with how much screen time Lauren got in Glee!!! She was in like every shot, and she looked great! Reminder - in Season 3 I was a total Lauren hater, but she is making a name for herself, and I'm very proud! Til' Wednesday, the BEST night of television that there ever was, good night all!

Shankers!!!

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Shankman-Judge-Dance-1009766.aspx?rss=breakingnews&partnerid=imdb&profileid=01

Shankers as a permanent judge??? AMAZING!

SYTYCD love at the VMA's

So I knew that the VMA's would be filled with dancers and choreographers galore from SYTYCD, but I just have to ask...did anyone else see Paula van Oppen dancing with Lady GaGa and Mark tonight?? I'm pretty sure that was her, which makes me think she may be headed towards the Top 20 since she was so close last year.

Also, Tyce was so great tonight in the MJ tribute! He just danced his heart out and was having so much fun! Wade, Brian Friedman, Laurieann Gibson, and Dave Scott were fabulous as well and seeing them all do their thing on stage tonight just makes me even more desperate to have a "choreographers dance their favorite routines" special of some kind!! I know Nigel says it's all about the dancers, but the fans really do fall in love with the choreographers too! Seriously, the love they got at the tapings I went to and the finale...crazy!!! We just wanna see them all dance once, please please please Nigel!

Ok, as far as I know that's all the SYTYCD dancing I noticed, although I did enjoy the pan of the Walter Kerr theater that passes by the "Burn the Floor" theater where Anya and Pasha are performing!! Did I miss anything? Liza? Shanta? Anyone??

Season 6 premiere!!!

4 Real, 5 Alive, 6???? We will find out soon enough...

I am so excited!!! At the moment I'm sitting in my kitchen eating grilled cheese and tomato soup and waiting for Shanta to get here. We always start watching about half an hour into it so we can skip the commercials. Sidenote - did you ever notice how much quieter the volume is on the show than on the commercials? I feel like I have to crank the volume up during the show but if I happen to be watching in real-time and a commercial comes on, everyone in the room pretty much blows out their eardrums! Just an observation. Anyways, while I'm waiting, here are some things I'd like to see this season (in no order whatsoever):

- at least one tapper in the Top 20...seriously, how great would those solos be?!?!

- dances that are a little less literal and put more to the imagination

- more Travis Wall choreography

- Country Music! I know that it hasn't gone over well in some dances in the past (ahem, Country two-step), but it's my favorite kind of music and there are some great songs that could be used for a contemporary piece or maybe even a waltz, although I don't know about the counts and all those details.

- no bad auditions, although I'm sure that won't happen

- a "reunion show" between the Top 6 and the finale so a) the final four can really prep for the finale and make it awesome and b) we can see some extra footage

OK! Shanta, Maureen, and Kim are here! Time to watch! LA AUDITIONS. My hometown and usually home to some fabulous talent. And, Adam Shankman is judging! Perfection. I love when he judges because you can just tell how much he absolutely loves dance! Ok, Cat runs us through the audition process blah blah blah aaaaaaaannnnnnnndddddd first audition, ready, GO! 

Cole Clemens - woah that was weird. Sorry, but that was my initial reaction. Kinda looked like a talking, dying chicken. 

Molly Gray - the adorable little blond girl whose audition they previewed in Season 5. She looks like she's about 13, from Utah (always good) and was a principal dancer in HSM (also always good). Her audition was good, she used the stage very well and was definitely talented. I agree with Mary that she would definitely grow on the show though.

*Disclaimer, I don't really have much (if anything) to say on the people they only showed for 2 seconds. I guess we'll have to wait and see if they show up in Vegas!

Amanda Kirby - I LOVED her from Season 5, and I was sad that they only showed a tiny clip of her. Hope she makes it far this season!

Ryan Kasprzak - wow he is an absolutely phenomenal tap dancer. WOW. I didn't love Evan enough to be a Ryan fan by association and I don't love how they been pimping him since last season, but I will admit that the man is talented. I hope he changes my mind. At the finale taping I wished him luck in Vegas, and I stand by that. Also, I loved Adam's face during his whole audition...he looked like he was going to cry! Precious. 

Bianca Revels - I have adored her since Season 3! This is my blog and I can think whatever I want! Ha. But seriously though, I saw the preview for the "tap battle" but it so far exceeded my expectations, I could not believe it! TOTALLY WORTH THE WAIT. Bianca's stank face was fantastic. Ryan was not so much with the stank face. They both had sooo much energy! I was grinning from ear to ear! I had to pause my DVR afterwards so I could type about it because I was so into it I couldn't even focus on typing! AMAZING. 

Christopher Aguilar - not sure why they spent any time on this guy. So not entertained by that whole "I want to produce my own movie" segment. Ick. Although I have to say that when he "shot" the judges table and Adam and Nigel pretended to die, it was pretty awesome. 

Amber Williams - first touching story of the season and it's a good one. This girl's mom was accidentally paralyzed in surgery?! I hate saying this but man I hope they sued! I'm so glad this girl was such a great dancer too. So young with a ton of potential.

Alexie and Paula - they were in Vegas for Season 5. I was indifferent about them last season, and that did not change from their 3 seconds of airtime this evening. Sorry girls, I'm sure you're good I just haven't seen anything yet.

Christina Santana - yay a salsa dancer! Cool tricks, good salsa moves. I'm not sure how I felt about the popping and locking. Cool idea but it came off kind of awkward to me. But I definitely think she deserved to go to Vegas...also loved her "belly dancing" at the end.

Phillip Attmore - um, he was Ryan's roommate on the Fosse tour?!?! Wow, I didn't even know Ryan toured with Fosse. Apparently Ryan has a happy face tattoo on his butt...you know what I say to that? PROVE IT. Moving on though, Phillip is amazing. It's as if he is not even from this era! He is so classic and smooth and DAMN GOOD. He just flew across the floor and had all the skill and polish of a true professional. Honestly, he's maybe even too good for this show, but we shall see. Nigel said tonight that this is "the year of the tapper"and I agree. I called that back in Season 5. This better not be all hype now and disappointment later!

Well, I guess that's it for LA! Wow, I wrote a lot. This is fun, and as I predicted, very good for releasing all the pent up SYTYCD energy that is rushing through me right now! But, I think I'm going to channel that energy into the new episode of GLEE tonight! So excited for that too...I hope we see some more SYTYCD alums making a guest appearance or two this season!!! See you next week for the Phoenix auditions! G'nite all~

Dear Diary,

Dear Diary,

I am unhealthily obsessed with So You Think You Can Dance. There, I’ve admitted it. OK fine, I admitted it awhile ago, about 5 episodes into Season 3 to be precise. And no, I do not really keep a diary. Well, I guess I do now, mainly because I need an outlet for this crazy obsession of mine! But, I am either the luckiest person ever or the obsession is contagious because I have happened to find a group of friends just as emotionally invested in the show as I am. Well almost as emotionally invested at least. Before I started writing this all down (5 minutes ago), they were the only ones could/would listen to my never-ending commentary on what is, in my very humble opinion, is the BEST show on television. I may as well introduce them now because they will show up a lot as the season goes along. Plus, I don't think that the show would mean as much to me as it does without them because while it is a great show, having people to enjoy with is what really sets it apart for me! So without further ado:

Anna - another obsessed fan and one of my best friends. We have almost identical reactions when we watch the show together, it's frightening.

Finney - always watches in real time and tries to spoil things for me via text. Also provides blunt commentary, especially on what people are wearing.

Kalyn – the one who sucked me into this black hole of an obsession! And I’m grateful for it! I’m also trying to convince her to audition so I can go with her and witness it! She leads a pub crawl on Wednesdays so she'll watch really late at night but always sends me her opinion on the performances right away!

Kim & Maureen – upstairs neighbors in our building plus friends from college. They come over and watch a LOT.

Liza – former co-worker that says she likes American Idol better but having in-depth discussions with her about both shows has made me realize it’s just a front. We’ve also gone to three tapings together including the Season 5 finale!!! She also cannot help but cheat and look up the dances online after the performance show tapes, a horrible habit that I may have indulged in a few times…

Niki – lives in SF but will always provide legit commentary on the show and has an uncanny knack for remembering specific details about it, even the ones that I forget!

Shanta – former roommate and resident music expert who may have an iPod identical in content to Mia Michaels. I swear it’s crazy, but I know every song Mia uses in her choreography before I see the dance because this girl has played it for me already!

So that's the core group. They will be quoted throughout this blog endeavor of mine whether they like it or not!

So, back to the show...

This is really more of a journal than a blog (hence the blog title). I realize I am releasing my not-so-inner-dork when I say this, but after I watch an episode of SYTYCD, I am generally on such a high and I stay that way until I get everything out that I want to say about it. I don't have any insider information, special sneak previews, or anything like that. I just like the show and want to talk about it with anyone who wants to listen. I'll do episode recaps, predictions, and general commentary on anything SYTYCD-related. Feel free to read, agree, disagree, comment, and [hopefully] enjoy! That's all for now, I'll be back tonight for the start of Season 6!!!