It's BAAAAACK!!!

It's summer, the rightful time for SYTYCD, and Season 7 has finally arrived! If you're reading this blog, you should know all about the rule and judge changes by now (if not, get caught up at www.sytycdism.com) so I won't waste time on that. I will say, although I really enjoyed the previous format, I think it's nice that they are trying to do something fresh and new. I love all of the all-stars (Welcome Back, Twitch!!!!), I can't wait to see Mary choreograph, and I like the Adam and Mia dynamic even though there will undoubtedly be a lot more tears on the panel this year. In any case, it is what it is, and we'll have to see what happens. However, here's hoping that Nigel at least brings us back the staircased stage we know and love!

Tonight we got to see the New York and Miami auditions, two cities that have brought us some pretty amazing talent, so I'm guessing it's going to be good! New York is up first:

Contemporary dancer Sarah Brinson and the Burn the Floor Latin Ballroom couple that Nigel actually saw perform on Broadway (Peacock and Bhyalikov, sp?) get tickets straight to Vegas, and definitely deserve them. All were fantastic dancers, but nothing particularly noteworthy about the auditions.

We get to witness 1-2-3 Party captain, Lazer, who I am DEFINITELY going to look for in Times Square when I go to NY this weekend.

The highly anticipated return of Teddy Tedholme is up next, and I could not be more pleasantly surprised at his degree of improvement. I thought he was precious and "whimsical", as Nigel says, last year, but I wasn't nearly as impressed then as I am now. He conveyed such powerful emotion in his audition the juxtaposition of that emotional with his whimsical style of movement was really powerful. Clearly, he's going straight to Vegas. I have to say, I'm officially on the Teddy Tedholme Train now! *insert subdued Mary train sound here* If you haven't seen his audition, you really should: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkqcgBmenOC

Sidenote: They showed a lot of lengthy auditions (good and bad), so we didn't see as many pieces of auditions as we're used to. That being said there were a few automatic Vegas tix handed out throughout the night.

We got some Isolocking from Chris "Isolock" Dixon, and he was definitely unique and talented enough in his style to earn him a trip to choreo with Courtney and Jason, but he didn't do so well with their combination and won't be coming to Vegas.

Jamie Greco, a low budget horror filmmaker, gets his 5 minutes of fame dancing in drag dressed in fruits and vegetables. Does this need further explanation?

Here comes the falling down montage - some are pretty bad this year. Not sure if this is a good surface for dancing on pointe either, based on the number of ballerina stumbles.

Wadi Jones is a parkour enthusiast and very athletic dancer, but I'm fairly bored by his audition, with the slight exception of his sommersault without any preparation. He gets to choreo but no farther than that.

Anthony Burrell and Megan Davis get straight through to Vegas, and I would definitely like to see more of them, especially Anthony. Is it just me or does Megan really look like Kathryn McCormick?

Season 6 contestant Edward Spots is like a baby Brandon, but a little more ballet and a little less power. That being said he is an extremely graceful and beautiful dancer. Regardless of the show, he definitely belongs in a company. Turns out he is doing a pre-professional fellowship with Alvin Ailey. Right to Vegas, of course!

Megan Carter is up next, and she's a "thicker dancer"...her words not mine! She moves beautifully and emotes really well! She moves Mia and Adam to tears, and makes it through to choreography. Unfortunately she doesn't do so well there and doesn't make it to Vegas, but she's only 18 and a college freshman (dance major, btw), so there is definitely a lot of room for improvement and perhaps a return for Season 8? Can't help but fall in love with her :)

Czech ballroom dancer Michael Petr is up next for his last opportunity to make the show. He's good, but I always compare male ballroom dancers to Pasha, and I don't think he's as good. I mean, Jason Gilkison loved him, so maybe he's awesome in terms of technique, but he didn't look like he was having any fun. Nevertheless he's through to Vegas, but I'm not expecting too much from this one.

Tyrell Rolle is from a "bad" part of Miami, but he goes against the hip hop/ breaker sterotype expected of him to become a contemporary dancer, and a damn good one at that! So much power and grace, and clearly he's had training (only 7 years though). Sonya gushed over him, and I agree with her on how masculine and aggressive his style was. Loved it, and I can't wait to see him in Vegas!

Henry Rivera, after bumbling his interview with Cat a little bit, turned out to be a pretty good dancer and earned a ticket straight to Vegas.

Daria Kopylova danced with her dad. Weird. Next!

Amy Aguiar Riley looks like someone who would be really good right away. She's a little older (27) and already has a son who looks like he's about 6. She's got an intriguing style. She clearly has the technique of a contemporary dancer, but she's doesn't do conventional moves. I like it! She breezes through the choreo and heads off to Vegas!

Velvet Angel girl group member Candace Craig is up next. Clearly she knows how to dance, but she's a little too pageanty for me. She knows how to perform, but I'm not feeling anything from her. They put her through to choreography, but thankfully no further.

Rose Neptune and her partner (who was pretty much a disaster) did a bunch of "lifts" and not so much any dancing. Awful. Next!

Bad dancing --> CSytycdI Miami spoof. Unecessary, but still amusing.

Jose Ruiz is another Legacy-type bboy. He says he can outdo Legacy's bboying, but I'm not sure based on his audition. It's good, but not like "wow" like Legacy was. He is good though, definitely good enough for choreo and to the judges, good enough for Vegas. We'll see what happens!

Next week - LA and Chicago! My city and Shanta's city! Should be some amazing talent, and in LA some familiar faces!!! See y'all Wednesday!