'So You Think You Can Dance': L.A. and Seattle auditions (that go on and on)

I truly love "So You Think You Can Dance" but four hours of any program a week, excepting perhaps baseball, is way too much.  Next week is Vegas week (like Hollywood week to you "Idol" fans, except with dancing instead of singing, and much more challenging), and I hope that in addition to the added drama, the program in general is shorter. Watching reality shows should be a fun escape, not a slog. 

For the last 120 minutes of auditions, we were taken to Los Angeles and Seattle, where choreographers Adam Shankman and Mia Michaels, respectively, sat in as guest judges. Thank goodness they did, because they're two of the most fun judges on the show.  Adam turned down swing dancer Calico Sequeria as an auditioner but graciously extended her 15 minutes of fame when she invited him onstage after he said, "I'd love to dance with you." He accepted and pretended to be a contestant, complete with fake panting and begging for his ticket to Vegas. 

Meanwhile, I love how passionate, honest and crabby Mia Michaels can be. I wonder if she noticed that a few of the dancers seemed to try to choreograph dances that mimicked her or Sonia Tayeh's eclectic styles.  For instance, Suzanne Fernandez's "fairy medicine dance" looked like a wanna-be Tayeh dance, and Brynelle and Xavier Blanton's strange brother-sister performance, with its awkward twisting and yet striving-for-passionate choreography, seemed to try to emulate a Michaels work. 

Usually the weirdos don't get my attention, but I did want to pay special tribute to Michael Han, the big-boned Asian man dancing en pointe to Rihanna's "Umbrella." It was horrific yet compelling.  There were many more like him, of course, including poor Nick "Nasty" Salzman, the tattooed man who thought he could earn points with the judges by insulting Nigel Lythgoe, who Mia helpfully pointed out is the executive producer of the show.

There were plenty of bright spots in the episode, but the only one that truly caught my eye was Kelsea Taylor, with the white/black/blue hair, one of only four contestants who made it to Vegas the first day in Seattle. She had a quirky contemporary style but more importantly her personality came through onstage, and not because she forced it by being hammy or oversharing.  I hope to see more of her.

I could think of one great way to cut down this episode and that would be by eliminating the dance-off between Leonix Knyshov and David "Sex" Soller.  David may look like a joke with his leopard-print glasses, denim shorts and Rapunzel-like locks but he's not actually funny on or off-stage.  Leo, on the other hand, was actually a hoot. I could stand to have him come by and stink the place up once a year as long as he said things like, "So let's hear what you have to say!" to the judges after his auditions.  Sex, meanwhile, should go on "Beauty and the Geek." 

--Claire Zulkey

Photo: FOX

Comments

[kerouac9]

Sex wouldn't be very compelling on Beauty and the Geek, because he doesn't know anything. He'd be terrifying.

I'm with you that this was a terrible episode. For a show about dancing, there didn't seem to be a lot of it there. When you seem to see more montages and folderol than actual auditions, you know that it's the end of the first segment on the show. Even Cat didn't seem to be talking to many of the contestants one-on-one. I don't think that SYTYCD will be returning to Seattle any time soon.

I did really, really like Adam's dance with the contestant, though. She could immediately see that she was out of her element, but I thought it was a really generous, friendly thing for Shankman to do. Having the former contestants come on stage to judge him was really clever and worthwhile, as well.

Yay, Vegas week! Do you remember whether we're going to be getting two two-hour episodes next week, or do they extend Vegas week over a couple of weeks?

[RomanHans]

This year the show has gone from mildly entertaining diversion to offensive trash.

The male contestants are rated on their dancing. When the judges critique the females, though, they'll almost always include a comment on their looks. The words "cute," "gorgeous," "stunning," and "beautiful" were all used last night. Last season a judge commented appreciatively on a contestant's hair-flinging. Yes, hair-flinging. Apparently it's important for females to express emotion.

My main problem, though, is with the homophobia. Last week two males danced ballroom together and all three judges expressed their horror. Mr. Lithgoe was particularly demeaning, saying this kind of dancing would "alienate [the] audience," while Ms. Murphy said she was just confused.

Mr. Lithgoe then sent the pair to choreography -- to dance with women -- telling them "You never know, you might enjoy that, too."

Which was odd, considering one of the two men was straight.

Mr. Lithgoe has since offered a lame apology, which doesn't come close to the mark. The judges have repeatedly said they want male dancers to be masculine and female dancers to be feminine, and berate anybody who doesn't conform to their standards. Rather than calling the show "So You Think You Can Dance?" it should be "So You Think You Conform to Our Stereotypes?"

[Claire Zulkey]

personally I love that everyone is suddenly so offended by SYTYCD which means that the show is getting more attention!

I don't think that "masculine" dancing is the same as "straight" or "butch" dancing. Just my two cents.

Also the judges did compliment one of the male dancers last night on his wonderful smile. So the guys can be singled out for their looks as well. I have no problem with this. It's part of the package either way. It's not exactly as if the male dancers have been hard on the eyes throughout the seasons.

Kerouac it appears that we've got 2 hours on wed and an hour on Thursday?

[Claire Zulkey]

Incidentally, if Nigel was a homophobe why would he have made a special point of applauding the football coach father for supporting his dancer son on Wednesday night's episode?

[dollylama]

I thought the dance off between Sex and Leonix was completely unnecessary. Although I am no psychologist, I would have to say that there is likely an underlying psychological reason for David Soller to continuously audition for this show. To then make a mockery of him on television is just incredibly immature. If a stunt like this was attempted in, say, an elementary school setting and the subject was, say, a student with a learning disability, I'm sure there would be repercussions. Shame on them.

That aside, thank goodness Kelsea danced for us. That girl was fascinating and I hope she goes far! Now there's the talent this show should be focusing on.

[Carla]

The best part of this episode was Adam's impromptu dance and the Season 4 judges (loved Joshua's attempt at a critique before Adam shut him down...get that boy and his dimples on TV somewhere, STAT!) I, too, can't wait until Vegas is finished and the real competition is on. My summer pleasure has begun.

[michelle]

Who was the 17 year old boy who was phenomenal and got a ticket for next year's SYTYCD?