‘SYTYCD’ Recap: A Tale of Two Cities

We’ve made it to audition stages 3 and 4 in our trek around the country for America’s Favorite Dancer. Cat Deeley and Co. took us on over to Salt Lake City and New York City in our search for the next best dancer Nigel Lythgoe can praise. Tonight was a tale of oddities and hot commodities in both SLC and NYC, but it was a different kind of American Idol-esque produced audition round. No surprise there, since they both share the same executive producer. But we came across a number of unnamed talented looking dancers. We came across the certifiably insane offspring of Ringo Starr. We came across back stories that were drawn out from the moment they began. We came across prompt tickets to Vegas for one-trick ponies and questionable choreography for proven dancers. Oh well, get it out of your system now, Dance crew because once we hit Vegas and the live shows, I want the SYTYCD I have come to grow and love.

And I know you do too.

Without further adieu, let’s take a look at tonight’s top auditions.

Chyna Smith ~ Anyone else wonder why this poppy personality’s parents gave her a name in common with the wrestler? Chyna took her personality to the stage in a fierce, flairing performance that the judges described as lightning in a bottle. Nigel wasn’t the only person who thought back to Mollee’s initial audition and personality bloom when I saw Chyna command the stage. It’ll be interesting to see how much lightning America can handle, though.

Tadd Gadduang Did he just…? Wait, did you see that? Huh? What did he just do? Holy…Are you watching this? Tadd took his short minute and some odd seconds audition and provided us with a solid effort of pure, quality entertainment on the audition stage. Anyone else want to try the hold the weight of your body on your elbow trick after he was done?

Lady Gaga’s Twin ~ Nah, I just won’t go there.

Princess Lockerooo ~ Now little miss over here was damn impressive with her hand gestures and the quick movements that verified all my extraocular muscles were functioning correctly. But Vegas? You judges were questioning some other trained dancers and send this one-trick pony to Vegas? I have little confidence that she’ll make it through, unless they know something I don’t, but what harm would there have been sending her to choreography tonight to make sure she can do more than “waacking.”

Chase Thomas ~ OK, so his audition is mostly going to memorable for his near nude exposure. I’m surprised Mary didn’t automatically give him a ticket based on his hot tamale. (I’m lucky I don’t have a paycheck, or I’m sure I’d be docked after that statement.) Seriously though, send this guy straight to Vegas and not to join the Chippendales. Clothes or not, Chase’s well executed lines and thorough extensions stole my attention. I was looking for more here and I hope we get some when he’s paired with a partner at the live stage. I could have, however, done without the mini segment of many boys in their underwear procuring tickets to Vegas.

Brandon Jones ~ Brandon’s audition has got to be one of the best we’ve seen this season. He was a pure joy to watch. Imagine that, I agree with Nigel. He drew on his inspiration from his father and gave a solid performance right on stage. He left nothing behind and he didn’t leave you wondering if he could handle the challenges this show will bring. It was great to see him…now let’s get him to open up a little more and we could have a solid contender this season!

Brian Henry ~ The Krumper for Christ. I wasn’t quite sure how that crump was a praise dance, but I’ll tell you one thing…dude better change his attitude QUICK. You don’t go on SYTYCD and diss a past winner and one of the show’s most talented judges. It just doesn’t work that way, Brian. You might be one hell of a krumper (which you are), but that’s not gonna carry you as far forward as you’d like with that attitude of yours. I would like to see more out of him, though.

Mary Kate Sheehan ~ While I don’t wanna take attention away from Mary Kate’s fancy footwork and use of the stage, but did anyone else think that was how much of America probably looks before they have to relieve themselves? We sure did here in our forums. Speaking of which, where were you while we live blogged during the show?

Virgil “Lil’ O” Gadson ~ Lil O’s personality began to shine on stage IMMEDIATELY. From the second he prepped us with his first poppy step, Lil’ O took on the massive stage with no reservation. Throwing tricks back and forth, mixing in a little bit of hip-hop & bboy, it was a performance you didn’t want to turn away from. While it would have been nice to see how he’d handle a partner, Nigel took the liberty to inconsistently also send him straight to Vegas, although that might be because he was on MTV’s Americans Best Dance Crew as a member of Phresh Select in Season 2.

Jess LeProtto ~ Brace yourselves here, but I’m going out on a limb and disagreeing with the judges … again. I know, I’m getting good at that. Jess wasn’t some dancer who was “in it to win it” by this performance alone, but I pose the question again. Why send magic hands through to Vegas and question this guys enjoyment when he’s CLEARLY put in a lot of effort and passion into learning his trade? The things I’ll never understand…

Robert Taylor Jr. ~ Talk about personality infused hip-hop. I could have done without the odd, awkward facial expressions at the beginning, to be quite honest. Like quite a few acts tonight, it was full of non-stop entertainment and you knew the second we met the “woo-man,” he’d be running off to Vegas with the rest of them.

And with that, we leave with one more stop on our audition tour…Los Angeles. Join us tonight for the final audition round before we head to Vegas. Did you have a favorite tonight? What’d you think of the judge’s decisions on some of these dancers? Let us know below and in our forums!