What up, dance fans! We are 3 weeks into this season of So You Think You Can Dance and still in the audition phase, but honestly, if the auditions continue to be as all around awesome as this week in Atlanta, I don’t even mind. The guest judge joining Mary and Nigel in Atlanta was Debbie Allen, as dramatic and fabulous as ever (come on, her fictional TV self is responsible for creating the beauty that is Jackson Avery on Grey’s Anatomy, she has to be awesome). Some of these auditions were absolutely breathtaking with hip-hop and contemporary both really well-represented.  Still wondering where my ballroom dancers are, but I’ll take what I can get. Also, I lied about making these shorter and only writing up some auditions. I can’t help myself, I must share all the thoughts!

Day 1

Audrey, Contemporary: So, aside from stealing my superhuman trick (she can lick her elbow and make her neck squeak; I also do the former, which is totally supposed to be impossible), I absolutely loved this girl’s audition. She started off strong with a gorgeous set of perfectly controlled pirouettes and was just completely beautiful and engaging from there. Her movement and facial expressions were nothing short of joyful. Nigel’s take: “Stunning.” I totally agree and it was no surprise that we will be seeing her in Vegas (and beyond, I hope!).

Dragon House Crew, Hip-Hop: Three of the strongest hip-hop auditions were from the Dragon House dance crew who all live and dance together. Boris’ audition was set to minimalist piano music, and the result was a very cool and creative piece with excellent musicality. My one critique is that his facial expression didn’t quite match his music choice, but the movement was dead on. Andre was one of the sickest poppers I’ve seen. The way he isolates different parts of his body is unbelievable. He was also really adorably nervous. The last to audition was Cyrus, who definitely had the best showmanship of the three and a killer robotic dance style. He was so entertaining and left me with a huge smile on my face. All three were sent through to Vegas. They made me a very happy Jen, as I had just been complaining about not seeing enough stand-out hip-hop talent.

Joshua, Contemporary: This audition was emotional, so well-controlled, and he had gorgeous musicality. The judges wordlessly held up his ticket to Vegas.

Tim, Hip-Hop: Last week I was really into the combination of martial arts with other styles when Cole crossed it with jazz/contemporary. This week Tim, a karate teacher and international champion, used karate influences in his breaking routine. The karate was only noticeable in a couple of places, but he had a funny personality and some great tricks. Personally, I would have liked to see how he did in choreography. Nigel asked him to show a bit of ballet to determine whether that was necessary. Even though it was more amusing than anything (I don’t think I saw him point a toe once), they decided to send him to Vegas. He was cute and a good sport, so hopefully his week of ballet training pays off.

Jackson, Hip-Hop: Jackson’s breaking was fun and pretty creative, and he was sent to choreography where he passed to the Vegas audition. He’s also a nightclub owner who got half the auditorium on stage learning “the wobble,” an ass-shaking version of a line dance. Debbie doing the wobble was pretty much awesome but I could have gone my whole life without seeing Nigel dance like that and been a lot happier for it. Yikes, British man.

Janelle, Belly Dancing: I don’t think So You Think You Can Dance has ever had a belly dancer make it onto the Top 20. This belly dancer was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, though, and a very engaging performer. She made it past the choreography round, so we’ll see if she can keep up in Vegas.

Danielle, Jazz/Contemporary: Danielle’s parents were there to cheer her on for her unique, strong audition. Nigel commented that she would probably work very well with Sonya Tayeh or Mark Kanemura. To Vegas she goes.

Day 2

Courtney, Contemporary: This girl’s thing was having her very elderly and very adorable former dance teacher grandma there to cheer her on. Courtney was good and had nice technique, but she lacked some power in her movement and facial expression. She just didn’t quite match the intensity of her music choice. Nigel wanted to see her in choreography and I’m with him, but I think the cute grandma factor won out and the other two voted her straight to Vegas.

Asher, Hip-Hop: Next up we have the charming country boy breaker from Virginia whose dream is to be a backup dancer for the Biebs. Alrighty then. He taught himself hip-hop in his garage given the limited hip-hop opportunities in small town Virginia, and I have to say, he’s pretty impressive for being self taught. He has a very high energy style with tons of personality, and was therefore sent straight through to Vegas.

George, Contemporary: George has a dad who always wanted an athlete and was heartbroken when he gave up his track career for dance. Yeah, because what he does isn’t athletic at all (see: sarcasm). His performance was very moving and expressive. Mary said it was her favorite audition so far. I’m not quite there with her, but he is very good and is rightfully going to Vegas.

Brittany, Contemporary: Another small town kid, this time a town known for having chickens roam the streets haphazardly without any concern for local traffic. She’s quirky, cute, and kind of dorky. Her audition featured great showmanship, although the judges correctly pointed out that she has some growing to do in terms of technique. They sent her to choreography where she apparently did well and was moved on to Vegas Week. I’m thinking her skill may not be there for this year’s Top 20, but maybe in the future?

Damon and Dion, Hip-Hop: I remember last year when the hip-hop community was up in arms because these guys ripped off the choreography of the Les Twins for their audition. Before featuring this year’s attempt (original this time), we actually saw some footage not shown last year of them telling Cat that their piece was “inspired by” the Les Twins. So, they argue that they didn’t mean to give the impression that the choreography was their own. This year’s audition was not as well choreographed but they’re still really solid, entertaining performers. They were sent to choreography where Dion was axed and Damon made it through to the next round of auditions.

NEXT WEEK: The never ending auditions continue in Salt Lake City and my boy Adam Shankman is guest judging! Since we’re in the middle of the Buffy Rewatch here on NoWhiteNoise, here’s a fun fact for you: Adam Shankman choreographed the season six masterpiece of a musical episode “Once More, With Feeling”. I love this guy. I had no idea how much affection I had for all the guest judges on this show before these recaps, I swear! Anyway, see y’all next week!