Friday, June 12, 2015

So You Think You Can Dance Weekly Review: Auditions--Ep. 2


This week the auditions hit Detroit and they’ve driven the Motor City to a tizzy. Everyone’s excited to show off their skills and fight hard (but not literally, because the city has had too much of that already) to get the golden tickets.
Since the audition episodes are two hours long, I won’t have all the time to discuss all the dancers here (nor do I want to). So here are the dancers that interested me during the episode.



First, Christine Sheppard for the Stage. Her flair and style is extravagant. I love the quick, sugary-yet-peppery moves she displays really won the judges (and me) over, and they just gushed over her. I’d want to too, but that’ll be too much. Jason noticed the African vibe, which I utterly enjoyed. And I’m glad he mentioned this, because I wouldn’t have. Plus, to me, she surely rocks the short hair look she has going on.

Next up is Kenya Sutton, a Detroit native who calls herself "Standing O". Her confidence is really nice...I guess. Her dance was something to look at very closely, as the little bitty moves mesh together and leave quite an impression on you. But to be honest, it didn’t leave one one me at first. I thought that those tiny moves weren’t so great; it was just her moving her arms and body around in quick, rhythmic motions, but then when I looked closely, I saw that the little tiny moves really built up more and more when the audition continued. The guys also noticed the sex appeal, which did help. Although I wasn’t very impressed myself with the audition, and I don’t think she’ll make the Live Shows (unless she improves and surprises me in a good way), I’m very happy for her getting her ticket.

These next two dancers would’ve probably made a first in SYTYCD history. A couple in love both dancing together and against each other. Kelly MacCoy, a stage-r, and Tyrell Noll, a Street-er, met in line at the Atlanta auditions last season, are together for a year, and are now engaged and spend many moments together. Included is their auditions in Detroit.
The minute I saw both of them together in their interview, I had a distinct feeling that the both of them wouldn’t go to Vegas together. Let’s see what happens.
Kelly was first and performed a Contemporary bit, and wowed the judges while merely had me interested first. Then she picked up, and I was more excited. The acrobatic vibe thrown in was really nice, And the emotional factor was more than par. I enjoyed Kelly, and was happy when all three judges gave her the OK-Gold.
Also, I want to mention that during the dance, there were a couple quick shots of Tyrell, looking a bit morose. I know that doesn’t mean much, but it was a bit telling to me. Either he was watching his fiancee dancing with the same expression as everyone else, or he was worried that her performance would be better than his. Let’s see.
(Again. I had the feeling only one of them would go through, and when Kelly earned the ticket, I KNEW in my mind (and even said it to myself out loud) that Tyrell wouldn’t get the same fate. And fortunately, I was wrong.)
Tyrell described his dance as “animation” to them, but “freestyle” to him. My suspicions strengthened, Doing freestyle can make or break your chances of getting in to the competition, and in most cases (probably a few), it’ll break it. His chances were broken.
I thought he did it very well; the technique was magical, and his split and pick back up was great. I really enjoyed his dance, maybe more than Kelly’s.
While Paula (yapping on as usual) and Jason loved the act and found it bold and ingenious, Nigel disagreed fully and found it more walking than dancing, with a little bit of story, I agreed with the former two, and was happy that Tyrell also got the OK-Gold. It’s great that this loving couple will now journey together to Vegas (and maybe LA) to start a very interesting run this season.

30-year-old Detroit native Corey Whitfield aka “Mission” is something of a Dance-Savant, as he has worked as a teacher at four studios across the state (He’s even brought two of his students along with him as support). So that’s got to a great thing, right? Well…
I thought the spins and flips were awesome, but the rest of the dance looked like something the expert dancers do on a bad day on Soul Train (this may not be a bad thing). It was really fun to watch, though. So to me, it was above average, while the judges found it more than that. (That’s fine)
Speaking of more than that, when they brought up his students, or his “godchildren”, Joey and Tyler, I was as happy as “Mission” was. And he claimed to be the happiest person on Earth.
Their skills were off-the-wall awesome; the spins and flips were exciting and a breath of fresh air. And the handstand one of them made was just nice. These young men are talented, and should audition next year. “Mission” raised those boys right. They could bring some excitement to the competition (whether it’s still using the “Stage vs. Street” format or not is uncertain).
Anyway, I was still happy Whitfield got a ticket. I enjoyed his fun style and vibe, and I hope he can bring more of that in Vegas.

Finally from here is Samantha Reyes, a resident of Bronx, New York, who has to be a liar. She claims to be 19, but I think she looks older than that. Anyway, she looks hot with the rugged, tough, early-90s rapper look going on. As for her act, she takes on a Street styled twist to the robot. And she does it amazingly. She has to be double jointed to pull those hard moves off, but she does so effortlessly. So much so, it nearly scares me! Must be her powdered-pale face (no offence). And the moves she does on her tiptoes was just breathtaking. So much so, made me think she was a ghost in some sort of vessel. (again, must be her powdered-pale face [no offence, as it’s a beautiful face.]) (I’m sorry, I don’t want to sound like a dickheaded creep. Even if I already am.) Anywho, she did a great job, and showed so much beautiful passion, it makes me wide-eyed and long-grinned. She really deserved her pass to Vegas, as I really want to see her show more scary-good breath-taking skills. Good for her.


All-in-all, this was a pretty solid week. I liked some of the dancers, and I less liked others. I enjoyed all that I mentioned but some of them did dances that I really wasn’t blown away with.
Only Christine Sheppard, Samantha Reyes and Corey Whitfield really impressed me the most. Anyway, I can’t wait for what next week has in store. Maybe more dancers that I could enjoy and find fun and amazing. Anyway, see you guys next week! Until then...
“Jit happens” -Paula
Well said.

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