So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 Atlanta auditions

25 06 2014

Day 1

SoYouThinkYouCanDanceL’il Buck joined Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe for this day’s auditions in Atlanta.

Mariah Reives, an 18-year-old from Sanford, North Carolina. I liked her. She was fun and sassy. Mary said she was an actress up there. L’il Buck did not want to blink. Nigel said her good technique and performance makes her a star. She is through to the next round.

Erik “Silky” Moore, age 26, from Orlando, Florida. I LOVE THIS GUY! His quirky dance gave my goosebumps. It felt like someone in a straight jacket. He moves on.

Kelly MacCoy, an 18-year-old, from Cincinnati, Ohio. It was entertaining but not anything that made me feel anything and her jazz-dance facial movements of a ballroom dancer which was strange to me. Nigel says she has a sway back. Mary says she has a lot of power. She liked her humor but it was too much in the face. L’il Buck likes the confidence. She gets a ticket to the next round.

Dragon House is represented by Christopher “Mr. Strange” Griffin, age 25. He was actually the one who put Dragon House together. He was very entertaining and gets through to the next round.

Conrad Dechabert, age 26, from Louisville, Kentucky was accused last year of dancing too much like a girl. This year–no way. That was VERY MANLY. I loved it. He looked like he was about to go into battle. Mary felt he was really talented. L’il Buck thought he was a strong dancer.

Taveaus “Dynamic” Woods, age 18, Las Vegas NV is Fik-shun’s best friend. Fik-shun is his inspiration. He was wonderful! Some spots could be a bit sharper, but when he was great, he was great. L’il Buck loved it. He said he could use a little work on his glides. Mary liked his use of the whole stage. Yes to choreography. But he was a no after that. His partnering skills need work.

Branden “Sideshow” Feimster, age 22, Detroit, Michigan, is also part of Dragon House. He is a fantastic dancer, but his emotional breakdown worried me. Nigel called him out on the fact that his original pop-locking looked more like pantomime. Mary said he was fun but she needed more. And then he blows it when he starts talking badly to Nigel. His mom looks like she wants to disown him at least momentarily. The members of Dragon House walk down to apologize for his behavior.

Day 2

Today, Mary and Nigel are joined by Jenna Dewan-Tatum for the judges’ panel.

Ricky Ubeda, age 18, from Miami, danced his piece for his mom. I like his personality. He is a funny guy. And I have goosebumps love the height on his jumps. Just wow! Nigel said he was super. He sees him going all the way in this competition (he is really that good). Mary thought it was hot and puts him on the train. The movement, the quality, the passion–he has it all. Jenna said he was amazing. He gets a ticket to go through.

After another montage of strong male dancers, the next featured dancer is Marissa Milele, age 18, from Nashville, who made it to the green mile last year. I am worried that her acrobats are trying to compensate for lower skills in dance and people say wow to those like a singer doing runs. It looked like I was watching floor exercises at the Olympics. Nigel thinks she is this year’s beast. She gets a ticket.

Then there was a montage of women dancers coming through. Elaine Kimble said that mom had a stroke at 43 and it changed the dynamic of everything for her. Elaine is a 26-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri. It was okay. It seemed rush. Mary felt she could dig deeper. Jenna agrees with Mary. Yes to choreography and is through to the next round from there.

ATL cranking Brandon “Crazy Legz” Jacobs, age 23, from Atlanta. That is some fast dancing!! He gets a pass to choreography but choreography proves too difficult for him.

Angelina Grantiz, age 16, from West Palm Beach had a lot of emotional connection to the song. Mary thinks she is breath-taking. She is through to the next round.

Cristina Moya-Palacios, age 18, from Miami. She gave me the biggest goosebumps I have had yet. Her dance was so full of emotion and technique. I don’t think I have seen another contestant move in that manner yet through the shown auditions. She is fantastic. No critique from the judges–just a ticket.

Kobe Swain: This small pint got woken up from a sound sleep but I am glad he was. I don’t think SYTYCD will be around when he grows up, but I hope some show is.  His father, Jerrod Swain, age 25, from Atlanta was a fantastic animator/popper.  Nigel wanted more.  Mary found it entertaining but wanted more.  It was a yes to choreography but he did not make it any further.

Dance Crews

Jungle Boogie or Control Freakz.

You know I think I might like this segment more if Justin Bieber and Nick DeMoura had more life to their presentation. It’s like a teenager giving a presentation in class. Infuse some excitement in your reading of the cue cards boys! Yes, I know, I just said something negative about Justin Bieber.


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So You Think You Can Dance S11 Los Angeles Day 2 and Philadelphia Auditions

18 06 2014

Los Angeles Day 2

SoYouThinkYouCanDanceChristina Applegate joined Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe for day 2 of the LA auditions.

Serge Onik (age 25 from Upper Saddle River, NJ) made it to the green mile last season. He has a new partner this year, Alla Kocherga, a 24-year-old woman from Los Angeles. Five seconds in and I loved it. Goosebumps! Rarely does ballroom give me goosebumps. That had a sizzle finish. Mary loved it. They are through.

Timothy Joseph is a 24-year-old, B-boy dancer from Sacramento, California who specializes in “suicides.” He is fantastic. He reminds me of Legacy. Mary thinks he is fearless. He was flipping too much for this. They send him to choreography; however he hurt himself during the solo so he has a decision to make. He was in too much pain to continue.

Casey Askew, 19 years of age, a contemporary dancer from Seattle, Washington. Goosebumps! I loved watching him. He had such great emotion. I got more impressed the more he dances. They stop the music and give him a ticket.

After a montage of successes J4 might have a problem with his height. But he IS only 9. He wants to show him hip hop “for the experience.” Fik-shun and Cyrus join him on stage. This kid is fabulous! What a joy and talent he is. Everyone is on their feet. He was able to meet his idol Stephen ‘Twitch’ Boss. According to him, it was the best day of his life.

Her dance is for her brother who was struggling with addiction who is now sober and healthy. Jourdan Epstein, age 24, from Plymouth, Minnesota is fabulous. I again had goosebumps. She gave Christina chills. Mary puts her on the hot tamale train. She is through.

Johnny “Waackd” Gibson, age 22, from New York City. I think he had improved from his audition 2 years ago. It is a “yes” to choreography and from there he is through to the next round.

Armen Way is a 28-year-old from Glendale, California, who tried out in season 10. I was turned off by him last year. His dance appeared to be all about himself. He seemed to objectify women from this rap video they showed in his audition packet. Last year he was sent home because he dropped Malece Miller on her head. I LIKE this version of Armen better. This year he had a new partner, Malene Ostergaard, a 25-year-old from Studio City, California. She reminded me of Mila Kunis. That dance was hot and sexy. I felt that Armen’s attention was on his partner this time and the dynamic between them sizzled. Yep, I like this version of Armen much better. Mary Murphy talked the entire way through the dance about how impressed she was. What a dynamic couple they are. She felt Malene ran the hot tamale train straight off the tracks. Christina said people would love them both. They are through to the next round.

Philadelphia Day 1

Prima ballerina Misty Copeland joined Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe during this audition.

Bridget Whitman, age 19, from Tempe, Arizona was up first. Her back-story was making me cry. One of her last memories of her dad before a tragic car accident killed him was her telling him that she wanted to be on the show. He told her that she could get there through a lot of hard work. I was sobbing. Mary Murphy was crying, too. Is she the best contemporary dancer I have seen during the auditions? No. But she does deserve a shot in the next round. Misty thinks she is a beautiful dancer. Mary can feel everything she is going through. She gets her ticket.

They then showed a montage of really fantastic male dancers.

Amir Sanders, age 21, is a self-described funky ballerina from Baltimore, Maryland. She is interesting from her look to her style of dance. It did not give me goosebumps, but I enjoyed it. Misty thinks her technique and lines are beautiful, but there were small moments she needs to focus on to improve. Mary thought for a moment it was like watching Diana Ross striking a pose. They sent her to choreography, which shocked both the audience and me. However, she does make it through to the next round after choreography.

Last year’s Jenna Johnson had a partner last season who was too young to audition. Landon Anderson, age 18, from Springville, Utah came back to audition (along with Jenna). He had some nice foot work but is he as strong as some of the other guys on the show? I don’t know about that. Mary thought he was a great partner. Misty said that he became someone else for dancing–like a little boy in speaking but a man in dancing. He gets a ticket to move to the next round. Jenna gets a surprise as well when Nigel extends to her an invitation to come back this season to be an all-star, something they don’t usually do when they were just contestants the prior year.

The last contestant for day 1 was Shafeek Westbrook. In season 9, he left with a really bad attitude. His words were “not coming back ever.” He hails from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania and is 24 years old. I loved his moves, but I was not sure why he felt the need to take his shirt off. Mary wanted more “wow” moments. Misty felt like he was trying to sell them his body versus his dancing. Nigel says yes to choreography. He makes it through to the next round after the choreography sessions.

Philadelphia Day 2

Billy Porter joins the judging panel for this round of auditions.

First up is Stanley Glover. His mother died when he was 4 years old while he was sleeping next to her; she had a heart attack in her sleep and they found her dead in the morning. Both sides of his family failed to go to the court date that would decide guardianship of him. His mother’s friend, Margaret Chamberlain, stepped up and brought him into their home. He is a 19-year-old from Chicago, Illinois. His choreography was genius and for a moment the words “Shelob’s mate” popped into my mind. Or at least a creature from the show on the CW called “The 100.”

Krumper James “Banks” Davis was shot twice in his knee four years ago. They were about to amputate his leg but his pulse came back. He is from Brooklyn, New York, age 24. This gave me goosebumps. It was such a unique style of krumping. Way to represent Brooklyn (I was born there). Billy felt like he was a true storyteller and it was fantastic. He gets to go to choreography, but he does not get to the next round.

Dance Crews

This was a tough choice. It was between a Bollywood/Hip-Hop Dance Crew called Wanted Ashiqz versus a group of hip-hop street style called Mix’d Elements. I’m really torn between them.  As of right now, we do not know the results of the vote.


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So You Think You Can Dance S11 Chicago Day 2 and Los Angeles Auditions

11 06 2014

Chicago Day 2

Joining Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe for day 2 of the Chicago auditions was Fabrice Calmels from the Joffrey Ballet.

First up was “The Puppet” Paul Brushaber. He is 18 and from Mokena, Illinois. He makes it look so easy but I cannot imagine how difficult his style of dance is. I would send him to choreography just to give him an opportunity to partner with someone. The judges surprised me. Mary wanted to live in his world. Fabrice loved that he created his own style.

Emily James, a 21-year-old from North Kingstown, Rhode Island, auditioned twice before in seasons 8 and 9. She took season 10 auditions off so she could use her degree, but she discovered that it is dance is what she should be doing. I got a mini-set of goosebumps at times. She has power but there is something missing here. Maybe it was just nerves or maybe a disconnection of her dance to the chosen music emotionally. I remember when I first saw Melanie Moore and I knew she would be the winner. Melanie always extended her reach lines just a little bit further. But Emily had some interesting moves I have not seen others do. Fabrice said it was solid. She is through to the next round.

We are then shown a montage of people who get through, but they are cutting the audition features down it seems.

Next up is Franchesca Bass, an 18-year-old young lady from Crown Point, Indiana. I loved that she created this story behind her dance. It was unique and interesting. Nigel was mesmerized by her and she had fabulous techniques. Fabrice, too, thought it was unique and he really enjoyed it. She is through to the next round.

Jenna Scaccia is an 18-year-old trainee with the Joffrey Ballet and apparently has a slight crush on Fabrice. She is a ballet dancer but it looks more like contemporary with ballet mixed in. It was light and heavenly and I’d give her a ticket. And they do. Nigel said she had a good flow of movement and it was very beautiful. Mary said it was like she floated on a cloud. She made Fabrice proud; he loved it.

James Thomas is a hip-hop dancer who does contortion and bopping. He is from Chicago. This type of dance is always so freaky to watch (in a good way). Fabrice thought it was insane. He tells them that he knows other styles so they give him a yes to choreography. Choreography proved too much for him and he drops out.

Los Angeles

Christina Applegate joined Mary and Nigel for this round of the auditions.

Jessica Richens from Yorba Linda, California did a jazz number. I loved the routine but I hope her “sexy” does not become a crutch. I think this particular audition was my favorite to watch so far of all the ones shown to date. Mary and Christina thought she could win the show and she is through.

I enjoyed Valerie Rockey‘s tap routine quite a bit. Mary said she was full of light and life. Christina said she wanted to look at her feet but she was drawn up to her face and then she saw what she was looking for in her expressions. She is through to choreography and from there she got through to the next round.

Jana “JaJa” Vankova is part of Phillip Cheeb’s animation crew who hails from the Czech Republic but now lives in Chatworth, California. She needs some lessons from Cyrus to get her animating to the next level. It was enjoyable. She is through to the next round.

The next contestant was a joy. Kyle Taylor is a 28-year-old man from Wichita, Kansas. He does popping in his home, but has never had professional guidance. I was amazed. Kyle just wanted to get a favorable opinion from other dancers. Kyle, I don’t know if my opinion counts, but that was hot! You were on fire! Nigel proposes a battle and Fik-Shun, Cyrus, and Legacy get up from the audience and join Kyle on stage for a little dance-off. I enjoyed this part so much. It made this guy’s day. He did such a great job that they give him a yes to choreography but he bowed out when he realized it was too much above his level.

Justine Lutz has experience in ballet and jazz but decides to do a contemporary routine for her audition. For a moment I was worried for her. For someone who has no experience in contemporary (and freely admitted this to the judges) who had the guts to do contemporary, it was beautiful. I had goosebumps. All three judges were standing and she is, of course, through to the next round.

Mauricio Vera and Deise Mendoza are in love. They are 27 and 23 respectively from Santa Barbara, California. I got goosebumps. Christina was in tears. She wanted to watch them all day long. Mary started crying. Off to the next round for both of them.

Hailee Payne is a 19-year-old from Roy, Utah. Her family is a lot of fun as well. I think Sonya Tayeh will LOVE getting her hands on her. I loved her hair (I want it). I also loved her dance. I will remember her because of the unique style that makes her stand out. I also liked her personality. That is a big part of the ability to win over people’s votes. It is not always being about the best dancer. She is through.

Sebastian Serra, a 24-year-old from Orlando, Florida, was fabulous! He was cut last year right before the green mile. I hope he makes it further this year.

Dani Platz‘s story of overcoming an eating disorder (and still fights these demons) between ages 16 and 18 was powerful. Her story was in her dance. She is such a brave young lady and a great role model for other dancers who starve themselves. Not only did I have goosebumps, but I was crying. I felt like she was broken and then at times healed and then broken and then healed throughout the entire dance. This is what I mean about having an emotional connection to the dance that I felt was lacking in Emily James. This is NOW my favorite dance shown to date. “Dance is like oxygen for the soul.” I loved that. Christina saw her story in her dance, too. She said she was healing through dance and it was beautiful. I was SHOCKED that they wanted to put her through choreography (and Christina was, too). But she fortunately made it through that round.

Marie “Poppins” Bonnevay is a popper who lives in North Hollywood, California and performs on the street. In doing such, she has to engage the audience in order for them to leave money to support herself. She utilized this skill during her audition with a very positive response as well. When she got close enough to the show’s previous contestants, Fik-Shun jumped up on stage and engaged with her. I love seeing this with the other dancers coming up and getting caught up in the moment (or if it is rehearsed, who cares about that). They need to keep this portion of it. She is moved to tears by it and she gets a ticket to the next round.

Dance Crews

Breaksk8 versus Academy of Villains.

Breaksk8 was interesting but I liked the Academy of Villains better.


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To Gate or not to Gate

11 06 2014

Thoughts about the new Stargate movies from my friend Karen. Let her know what you think!

Karen Ford's avatarIN THE KNOW

When I first heard that Stargate was coming back I was jumping for joy.  I couldn’t believe that after all this time, it was returning.

Then I heard that it was to continue from the initial movie back in ’94 with James Spader and Kurt Russell.  I thought, hmm, ok,, how is that going to work?  Are they going to get the same guys to play Jack and Daniel?  Or are they recasting the whole lot.

But not only are they making a reboot,, they are making a trilogy.  There’s going to be THREE movies.  But then my obvious question,,, What about SG1, SGA and SGU??

I know that they wanted to continue from the story line from the original movie, but c’mon?? 17 years of Stargate because of the initial movie, to be ignored??  I do hope that they reference the 3 Stargate series we know and love somehow…

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