SYTYCD Season 9: New York and Dallas Auditions…Discussion
I don’t know about everyone else but I am so happy that SYTYCD is back and it was a jammed packed two-hour premiere. Tonight we got to see some of the best and worst in New York and in Dallas. Tyce and Lil’ C joined Nigel and Mary tonight at the judging table. I did miss the first fifteen minutes of the show but I was reminded as always when I watch the show why I love dance. Here are some of my thoughts on the night good, bad and the absolutely precious.
NEW YORK
I just happen to turn the show on and got to learn about “Freeman Fever”. I’m not sure when wiggling became a dance move but I may just have to blame LMFAO. Granted he had a great personality but was completely clueless. He honestly thought he just chose the wrong song…lol.
Leo Reyes was the first standout for me, he had such a moving story and happy to hear that his mom is doing well. He should be someone to watch. His style in my opinion is a mix of contemporary and hip-hop.
Chehon the ballet dancer from Switzerland was insanely good. Like Tyce said with technique like that he deserves to go to Vegas. Truthfully I really don’t see him having any issues with other styles.
TEXAS
Texas started off with 29-year-old mom Bree Hayfen. Her husband and kids were in the audience supporting her, and I love that Nigel brought the kids up to watch from the judges table. While Bree was dancing hearing Luke cheer his mom was great and then Nigel asking him if he gave him something would he give it to his mom. Luke walk up the stairs to the stage with the ticket to Vegas in his hand…such a cute moment when she realized what had happened. Stella her daughter obviously didn’t want to be left out so Nigel gave her a ticket to give to mom too. What happen next had to be one of the cutest things I have ever see on the show, Stella got her turn to dance. If you ask me she stole the show. You could tell just by watching that she spent a lot of time watching her mom. If anyone missed this as soon as the video is on youtube I will post it.
The next two to take the stage were two street dancers with their own styles that worried me when they were just talking about it…Zombie and Exorcist. To my surprise both were actually good. The Exorcist (didn’t catch his name) all I can say is wow. He moves with such feeling and emotion. I’m going to have to agree with Nigel…the exorcist is a true artist and I can’t wait to see him in Vegas.
Up next the Australian ballet dancer Daniel Baker. I don’t have much to say about him other than he is an obvious favorite with the ladies.
Sam S. At first I was a bit worried till he started telling the judges about himself. This is when the show is great. Sure Sam wasn’t the best dancer but that didn’t matter. I think he may have started a new dance craze…the ocean.
Von Kipper. Cat handled herself great with this guy. I will say this he can break dance but that attitude of his was absolutely disgusting and I’m glad they sent him packing. Von is what Nigel would call a MORON.
Jarell Rochelle thankfully closed the show on a good note. Another son dancing for his mom and Nigel bringing her closer so she can see him dance. I have to say she is one proud mom.
Next week it looks like Jesse Tyler Ferguson is joining the Judges…love him. So what did you think of the NY and Dallas auditions…let us know.
looks like Daniel Baker is a friend of Alex Wong’s!! here’s a video Alex posted to his Twitter after Daniel’s audition! I was out tonight so still need to catch up on the episode, but I’m so happy SYTYCD is back!
1920’s black and white chick – hated her whole “act” and why do contemporary dancers always feel the need to pull an imaginary rope into their stomachs and reach out to far away objects.
Toshi – enjoyed his show 🙂 great performer and I enjoyed it.
Austin – its sex v2 (my girlfriends reaction) I’m scared that if they have enough time for the rubbish dancers there must not be that much talent in NYC. Funniest bit was the audience heckler “Vegas” lol’d.
Good to here “ready to go” 😉 again would rather have seen one of those Vegas montage acts in full.
Dubstep! I hope we see some dance choro to some dubstep!!
Shafeek – Very athletic. Legs could be straighter. I swear I saw Tyce licking his lips. Haha! Doubt he will make it past Vegas though. Cool story bro. I loath people who pull the sympathy card.
Leo – Arghh I hate the stupid “stories” and “tears” so contrived. Almost changing the channel out of rage. I found his routine to be as shallow as his contrived sob fest.
The teaser for Texas made me realise I hate the audition episodes.
Cheyon – best dance audition so far. He didn’t talk much. Can’t tell if he was really excited about Vegas or expected it. Can’t blame him, he may need a little grounding.
Bree – cute kids. Adorable routine. Nigel made one nice TV moment there! Great for 29 as well. I’d vote for the kid. Win or lose that girl will forever think her mum is the greatest.
Stepheon – great in his style. Be interesting to see the choro round…
Stepheon (contd) – nope off to Vegas. Good on him.
Hampton – not sure if I buy into the exorcism schtick but he was very good. He came across as a nutter, but was pleasantly surprised. I liked that he had a posse haha.
Daniel – ladies… Love that our accent threw Nigel. And yes all Australian guys have bodies like that. Jokes on the judges, we invented that sort of sarcasm 🙂 happy he made it to Vegas.
I swear they never show us the top 18/20 audition instead they hide them in the montage.
Sam – better dancer than most guys who hit the clubs. Good on him. At least he didn’t cry.
Von – why is he there? Great song choice. It’s funny because I agreed with most of what he said, but he needs to work on how he presents his arguments. Would love to know what the “contract was that he was talking about. If he danced better he might have gotten a bit more slack.
Poor almost blind mum. He didn’t need to make a big deal about it – he’s obviously good enough to go to Vegas so maybe this is why some people end up In montages and others gt screen time.
Audition 1 over!!! Looking forward to top 18 and an end to the bullshit.
@Chyron Interesting that you bring that up with contemporary dancers…lol…granted I don’t think its always a rope but for me that particular movement I associate with pain. Its also probably a learned thing if they’ve done it in many choreographed dances in the past it’s something that just kind of sticks and a hard habit to break.
Hampton: go back an watch John’s interview with Debbie Allen she mentions him. I think it’s what he chooses to call his style is what is going to confuse people.
As for the “stupid stories” really you are going to complain about it.Sure sometimes it is a bit over produced but I will not discredit their stories. The stories aren’t stupid at least not to the person telling them.
@Amanda – I think half the stories are made up or over exaggerated. If they are real, they shouldn’t cheapen their lives by exploiting whatever their personal tragedy is. I prefer stoicism rather than exhibitionism when it comes to the contestants personal lives and challenges.
This may sound odd since it is a show about entertaining and being a little “out there” is a fundamental part of that. But to me, they should achieve this by dancing remarkably, not trying to come up with the best tear jerker.
If the contestants really want an A+ in my book, they would channel those feelings into the dance, but refrain brining it up in the interviews. The dancing will improve and they’ll show an element of class that is sorely missing from a lot of these shows.
Chyron – I wouldn’t blame the dancers for their tear-jerker stories. I’m quite positive that the producers/editors are looking for stuff like this, and then they’ll drag it out whichever hapless dancer they find. They do the same thing with Olympics coverage…as if TV producers believe America won’t watch an athletic event if there isn’t some over-arching human-interest story. I’m with you – I dislike the stories and would rather spend more time on the dancing (or whatever Olympic event I’m watching), but I put them blame on the producers, not the kids trying to win a competition.
On a separate note, was anyone a little disappointed with the lack of Cat last night? She narrated the whole thing, but most of the interviews were done with someone else, who stood out of sight behind the camera. And she has a new show…is Fox tempting Cat away from SYTYCD?
I have not read anyone else’s comments b/c of time, but all I will say is I am tired of them spending so much time on the “bad” dancers. They showed so few of the good ones, it was very disappointing to me. Did they really need to show the guy that bad-mouthed the show? Was that really necessary? That is what he wanted anyway!! I thought this show was all about optimism & positivity. I would really like to see MORE of the GOOD/GREAT dancers – the ones that go through to Vegas, not the idiots, or the so-so dancers. And, they spend so much time on the background stories, too much time in my opinion. And, when they do show the dancers they keep showing the judge’s reactions, fine, but please put them in a box on the screen so we can still see the whole dance! Ok, so my two cents. Just not happy with the editing this year. I think they showed a lot more of the good stuff last year. I still love SYTYCD, but I will be forwarding through much of the audition shows. Thanks for listening.
I guess I just don’t let the stories bother me especially in the individual cities it’s just part of the show in the beginning. Next year I plan on going to one of the cities to watch since they are open to the public.
Also I sorta like not seeing all the great dancers right away it takes away that element of where the hell did they come from. Nick was the best example of that last year and after watching him on tour…I can say he should not have gone home when he did.
Here’s Bree Hafen’s video … http://youtu.be/cxYm36HVUmU