Free SYTYCD Newsletter Want to receive the latest news on So You Think You Can Dance sent straight to your email? Join hundreds of other SYTYCD fans who subscribe to Pure SYTYCD for FREE!

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Auditions: Atlanta

Listen to the podcast

Episode 46 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction
2:51 – Dragonhouse Crew: Boris Penton, Andre Rucker, and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer
9:02 – Other Hip-hop/Street Dancers: Tim Conkel, Jackson Alvarez, Asher Walker, and Damon & Deon
16:28 – Bellydancing: Janelle Issis
17:53 – Contemporary Guys: Joshua Alexander and George Lawrence II
21:31 – Contemporary/Jazz Girls: Audrey Case, Danielle Dominguez, Courtney Kirby, and Brittney Ortner
29:46 – Wrap-up

Episode Length: 32:18

After an exciting set of auditions in Los Angeles, we found ourselves disappointed with the turnout in Atlanta this year. That’s not to say there weren’t some standouts, and those standouts were pretty amazing. We were treated to some absolutely amazing hip hop from the members of the Dragonhouse Crew, with Boris Penton, Andre Rucker and Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer each offering us unique and draw-dropping takes on their “robotic” style of dance. It’s breathtaking what is possible with this style, whether it’s a fresh take on a character-based performance or melding two unrelated elements together, such as Boris’ movement atop a beautiful piano piece. Beyond the Dragonhouse Crew, Asher Walker surprised us with his self-taught brand of hip-hop dancing. While his dance vocabulary is limited, he overcame this with a great personality and sense of musicality, gliding to and fro across the stage without effort. George Lawrence II put forth a strong contemporary performance, putting every inch of his body into his extensions and balancing this with a tasteful routine full of contrasts in speed and quality of movement. Rounding out the dancers that impressed us was Danielle Dominguez, who’s Sonya-inspired style stood out and displayed a sense of power while maintaining a quirky character.

We wish we could say that we liked everyone from Atlanta, but many of the other contestants left us with mixed feelings. We felt lukewarm towards Tim Conkel, Jackson Alvarez, and Joshua Alexander, and we didn’t know what to make of Courtney Kirby. In addition, during her segment we wondered if having family members sit up at the panel is actually a good idea or if it carries a risk of biasing the judging panel. We discuss these things and more in the Atlanta audition episode of our podcast!

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

June 13, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

Podcast: SYTYCD Season 9 – Auditions: Los Angeles

Listen to the podcast

Episode 45 direct download

Subscribe to podcast on iTunes


Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction
1:05 – Contemporary girls: Alexa Anderson, Eliana Girard and Sam Lenarz
7:26 – Jazz girls: Megan Branch, Jasmine Mason
11:18 – Choreography round guys: Jontel “Johnny Waacks” Gibson, Caley Carr, David Matz and Jonathan Anzalone
16:21 – Vegas-bound guys: Cole Horibe, Stephen Jacobsen and Marshea Kidd
22:30 – James & Nick Aragon, the “Ninja Twins”
24:34 – Wrap-up: Variety in the Top 20

Episode Length: 27:34

We’re still working to get caught up with our podcasts so that we’re releasing our thoughts close to the airing of the most recent episode. We apologize for the delay and we hope that after this one we’ll start releasing our podcasts on a more reasonable schedule.

If there’s one thing we love about this show, it’s that the audition episodes consistently bring out new and exciting dancers for us to enjoy. The Los Angeles auditions proved to be quite fruitful, with the contemporary girls Alexa Anderson and Eliana Girard impressing us with their skill sets and the character of their dances. We’ve been saying it for a while now, but we love it when contemporary dancers add some aggression into their style. There was also the sheer beauty of David Matz’s metal ring performance, which embodies everything we love about the quality of this show’s audition episodes. Cole Horibe’s audition was a welcome surprise, displaying a mix of martial arts ferocity with fluid, elegant movement that left us excited and wanting more. We also had the feel-good story of Marshea Kidd surviving a terrible car accident which nearly ended his life. That he could walk after what happened, let alone dance in the way he showed us, was a small miracle.

There was more to the episode of course, including the ridiculous first routine by Stephen Jacobsen that led many to speculate that the producers staged this for “controversy.” And who can forget the hilarious variety show that was the “Ninja Twins”! You can hear our thoughts about these and more in this week’s episode of our podcast!

Let us know what you think after listening to the podcast! You can leave us a comment here or on our blog, Reflections on Pop Entertainment. You can also follow us on Twitter and tweet with us. You can also visit our Facebook page, like us, and leave a comment there! We love feedback and will respond either with a comment or in our next published show.

June 7, 2012 I Written By

Over the past few years my fiancée Meghan slowly brought me into the world of television, turning me into a full-fledged fan of both scripted and reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance turned into one of my favorite reality shows as it is a competition that takes itself seriously, providing the audience with artistic choreography and talented dancers. It's certainly not something I ever expected to get emotionally invested in, but here I am! Meghan and I are very analytic when it comes to the things we enjoy. We constantly discussed and analyzed shows with each other and after doing this for a couple years, we decided that we should turn these discussions into a podcast. We created Reflections on Pop Entertainment, a podcast that provides commentary and analysis of popular entertainment as found in visual mediums, particularly television and film. So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 is the first television series we're covering with weekly podcasts and has allowed us to find our voice as well as actively contribute to the fan community. We hope that you'll enjoy our installments as they are posted to Pure So You Think You Can Dance!

SYTYCD Season 9: Los Angeles Auditions Thoughts

This is the ninth year that So You Think You Can Dance has visited LA on the audition tour, and you’d think after eight seasons they would have seen just about everything… truth is, not really. The talent pool is still really deep and here are my thoughts on those that were featured and heading to Vegas.

LOS ANGELES AUDITIONS
Alexa Anderson:
Twitter
Facebook Page
She seemed to have a lot more control in her movements, but it seemed rather slow at times. The skirt was a bit of a distraction for me but it was a rather beautiful piece. A friend of mine said: “I’m calling it, she’s going to win this season” guess we’re going to have to wait and see. She’s already been through the Green Mile, so I’m expecting her to make it at least that far again.

Eliana Girard:
I really like her pointe work, but her center I’m not entirely impressed with during her audition. She has fantastic lines that really go on forever but her performance/emotion was really good, but I think that comes from some of her professional background. How far she’ll go? I’m hoping for at least the Green Mile, she seems to have enough flexibility in her background to be able to do more on the show.

Sam Lenarz:
There is a very ethereal quality to her movement that I rather like, but it seemed too much like a moving picture, something you can see but not necessarily feel or become passionate about. I could understand if she didn’t want to pour out her emotion because it would be too dark and gloomy considering her background, but there are ways to turn that into more passionate energy… and that I would love to see her do. I didn’t agree with her having to go through the choreography round as opposed to going straight to Vegas, but in the end she’s in Vegas.

Megan Branch:
This is a very interesting routine, I like it enough, she has good technique and power of movement. But it doesn’t necessarily appeal to me nearly as much as others have. This is another that I didn’t agree with going straight through to Vegas. Or rather… if Sam had to go through choreography then to me Megan wasn’t much better, but ah well.

Cole Horibe:
– Staff Member of 24-VII Danceforce
Twitter
Martial Arts dancing… I LOVE HIM. End of story. Such power, focus, and he has found a way to tie dance into martial arts and vice-versa. He creates stories as opposed to just dancing. I really can’t wait to see how he would fare during the Vegas Callbacks

Stephen Jacobson:
Cincinnati Ballet Profile
His first audition was funny, but really? REALLY? He needs to stick with what he does well. Hell his last minute 2nd audition was so much better than his 1st audition that he semi-choreographed. Oye. And really the moment he started dancing ballet there was no question he was going straight through to Vegas. My favorite part of his audition? When he went up to get his ticket to Vegas, Nigel made as if to kick him in the ass. 🙂

Jasmine Mason:
Twitter
– Works at Dance Precisions
I am not really a big fan of jazz dancing in general, but for some reason I liked Jasmine… there is a maturity to her dancing despite her youth.

Marshea Kidd:
– Works at Dance Precisions
After hearing his story all episode I am glad that he was able to come back and dance as he did. There is a fluidity and lightness to his movement that I really loved to see. Considering that the LA Auditions actually happened in early-March and Vegas Callbacks happened in early-April, I am kind of curious to see what happened in Vegas Callbacks for Marshea.

June 1, 2012 I Written By

My life can be summed up in the following two quotes: 1) "I am married to engineering and am its faithful wife by day, but at night my wanderlust takes hold and the arts becomes my jealous paramour." and... 2) "Engineering is my safety net. Writing is my passion. Acting is my escape when the other two become too much." So where does dancing fit in? Pretty much anywhere at this point... =)