LA+Chicago=Auditions!

LA is first today! It's my city and the city of professional dancers (absolutely no connection there), so it should be awesome and according to this montage of awesomeness, LA has clearly brought us some great talent in the past. I’m pumped for these auditions.

Ariel has been shown like 4 times in the clips, so I’m guessing we’ll see her audition routine again? I really like her and the fact that she won’t take no for an answer, but I feel like they just don’t want to cast her. We’ll see!

Lauren Froderman, cheerleader apparently, is up first…and she’s dancing to “Let’s Get It On”? Seems like a weird choice. And despite the weird song choice, she is bending in ways that don’t seem normal. Thanks for the phrasing, Shants! That being said, it was not as much of a dance as I would have liked it. More like a series of moves. After some rave reviews from Adam, Nigel, and Hi Hat (new judge), she’s headed straight to Vegas.

Hella Hung wants to amaze the crowd. So far, I’m not amazed, although there are some clips of him doing flips and stuff, so who knows? And no, this isn’t even bad enough to show and laugh at. It’s just weird. Next.

Rachel Girma, a rhythmic gymnast who hurt her foot while training for the Olympics just started dancing two weeks ago! Could have fooled me! She was great! They don’t even wait to see if she can handle choreo, she’s straight to Vegas!

Insert obligatory “California Girls” montage here! Ariel is among the Vegas ticket recipients, and there is definitely some talent they aren’t showing enough of here! Stupid music licensing issues!

Salsa daners Cristina Santana forom last year and her partner Pepe Alvarez are back from last season, except now they’re both trying out. Cristina made green mile last year and you can see why. She’s great. He’s wearing awkward white tennis shoes which are kind of distracting, plus she pretty much stole the show any way. They send Pepe to choreo, but Cristina is heading back to Vegas! Pepe is in a bit over his head and ends up dropping out.

Taylor Costello is up next, and this is a crazy story. She was adopted at 4, and her biological mother was murdered when she was 11. Apparently she left a note for her that let her know that her favorite thing to do was dance, and she is living through her legacy. This girl is a very powerful dancer, and you can see she’s very technically skilled. It’s a little spazzy of a routine, but you can see there is definitely potential there. They put her to choreography, but it wasn’t strong enough and she’s heading home.

First up on Day 2 is Alexie Agdeppa! UCLA grad, hooray! She made the green mile episode last season, and I’m excited to actually see her whole audition this time. She’s so great! Adam’s obsessed with her already. Her smile lights up the stage, ad yet she still conveys so much passion in her dance. This HAS to be her year! Team Alexie! Nigel does this weird lying thing where he says she’s not as good…I dunno, weird. Obviously she’s going back to Vegas.

Melinda Sullivan is a tapper from Jason Samuelson’s company, so obviously she’s going to be really good. I don’t like the slow music and the crazy fast tapping. It doesn’t really match. Also, my roommate Emily would like to mention that her eye makeup is really weird on one side…looks like a black eye. She’s a crazy good tapper and gorgeous, and she’s definitely very unique. They send her to choreo and then to Vegas!

Sidenote- They have not shown one good guy dancer.

And right after I typed that they show a bad guy dancer montage. Apparently all the LA guy dancers are already doing well enough for themselves so they don’t need to come out and try out for the show? Or something like that.

Last in LA is Ryan Ramirez! I’m excited for her thanks to some SYTYCDISM hype, so I have high hopes! Don’t disappoint me Andrew Tran, you never do. And of course she is beautiful dancer. Everything about it seemed effortless and lovely. The judges aren’t impressed with her performance or personality, so they send her to choreo. She nails it obviously and is off to Vegas!

Nigel and Co head to Chicago next, for the first time in 3 years!

Finally they’re showing a guy! Kent Boyd is from a tiny town in Ohio. I can already tell Adam will love him. He’s young, but so mature in his dancing. He reminds me of Jakob/ Nathan plus tumbling so throw some Neil in there too! Love him! He also could be Adam’s son, they are like spitting images. For some reason they send him to choreo, but obviously he is heading to Vegas.

Andrew Phillips is here with his fraternal twin Tyler who has spina bifida (sp???). They are the cutest set of brothers, and I am really hoping Andrew kicks ass. Loks like he’s gonna! Great dancer. He’s not necessarily as polished as someone like Jakob, but still good. Adam makes a good point that he is probably still growing and needs some more work, but they all like him and send him to choreography. They didn’t expect to send him through to Vegas, but they did!

So a thick haired girl named Malinda Jacobson is going to show the world what Hick Hop is. Not feeling too good about this. The judges laugh through the whole thing, but I gotta say she’s probably fun in the club, right? Shockingly she’s going home, along with a crazy montage of bad Chicago dancers.

Adrian Lee is up next, and we finally have a beautiful male contemporary dancer! Stacey LOVES him and can’t stop gushing. I’m with her, he was awesome! Straight to Vegas!

Day 2 in Chi-town starts out with Kellan Borchers. Freestyle hip hop to Dannity Kane? Ok then. Oh this is so entertaining, but not so much in a good way.

Christopher Gilbert is up next and he’s one of the skinniest men I’ve ever seen. E’s dancing with a cane, which is kinda gimmicky but he makes it work. He’s got a cool style, but I’m not sure exactly how to classify it. Some kind of hip hop. I do love watching him though, so that’s something. The judges love him and send him to choreography hoping he’s able to keep up. Unfortunately it’s a “no” for now, but hopefully he’ll be back

They send a bunch of people to choreography, so it should be a nail biter later.

Jarrod Mayo is up next and he brought his mommy. Adorable. He’s very good, I especially love his musicality. He’s a good performer, and I could see him doing well on the show. And he’s so polite…total mama’s boy J And he is straight to Vegas! Hooray, I can’t wait to see more of him!

Jarrell Robinson is a 25 year old man who lost his hearing when he was an infant, and now is completely deaf. Man can this guy move! He’s fantastic, and he just feels the music! Total inspiration! The judges shower him with praise, and let's be honest, we all got a little teary.

Tomorrow brings the T states, Texas and Tennessee, so we'll get to see what Dallas and Nashville have to offer! Can't wait - talent is amazing this year!