The best auditions yet, So You Think You Can Dance 14×03 showcased every kind of style, even some we had never seen before!
It’s going to be quite the competition to get into this season’s top twenty. Our newest batch of So You Think You Can Dance auditions was possibly even better than the previous one, and they excelled in an incredible variety of styles. The night started off with Kaylee “Impavido” Millis, a wholly unique and dedicated dancer that is already becoming a fan favorite. As the night continued on we also met Ana Sanchez - Colombian salsa dancer and flipper extraordinaire, Koine Iwasaki - a beautiful dancer from Japan that considers dance to be “her second language”, genius hip hop dancers Joseph “Klassic” Carella and Huwer “Havoc” Marche Jr., Newsie tapper Chaz Wolcott, and Ryan Bailey - the dancer with his own style of dance and by far the most controversial audition.
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With so many amazing dances and styles, there is a lot to discuss. Twitter lit up on Monday night with praise for all of the dancers, and more than a few disagreements over the auditions. With most dancers going straight to The Academy or back home, there has been very little choreography thus far. The decisive nature of these auditions is inciting strong opinions from the fanbase.
Here to discuss last night’s highs and lows is our roundtable!
Reagan (@reagandpierce) - TV addict, former dancer, writer for TVAfterDark
Austin (@theaustinmayor) - Dancer, choreographer, and teacher
Janine (@J9DH) - Mom of 2 and fan of talent shows like SYTYCD and American Idol
Terry (@rockinchick66) - Asset Manager by day, Wife, Kitty Mama and SYTYCD super fan by night!
Kiamesha (@SimsKdsims96) - 21-year-old who loves writing, reading, music, and animals.
Brandon (@indigo_15) - Writer, dance enthusiast, lover of pop culture. Supporter of imaginations running wild.
1. Who was your favorite dancer of the night?
Reagan (@reagandpierce): Kaylee “Impavido” Millis. She seems like such a dedicated and unique dancer, and a total free spirit! Plus, I loved her routine.
Austin (@theaustinmayor): Chaz Wolcott! I watched him when he was on tour with Newsies and he was soooo great!! I love tap dancers!!
Janine (@J9DH): My favorite dancer was Koine Iwasaki. The combination of strength, precision, and gracefulness was very impressive. She is a force to be reckoned with!
Terry (@rockinchick66): It’s so hard to choose! I loved all of the first 5 dancers! If I had to choose one it would be Chaz Wolcott. He’s got such a great personality and technique! Love him!
Kiamesha (@SimsKdsims96): My favorite dancer was the girl with the crazy hair and tattoos. Her technique was beautiful and matched her personality.
Brandon (@indigo_15): Kaylee Millis (a.k.a. “Impavido”). I’m a sucker for a quirky dancer, and I love everything she did, and I think she has a unique style and look that will stand out in the crowd. She kind of reminds me of Ellenore Scott from season 6, who is one of my all-time favorite SYTYCD contestants, so that’s definitely a plus.
2. Which was your favorite dance of the night?
Reagan: Gotta give this one to Chaz Wolcott. His personality shone through his dance and it was so much fun to watch!
Austin: Can I say Darius Reed?? It just made me laugh!
Janine: My favorite dance of the night was performed by the duo, Joseph Carella and Huwer Marche Jr. I was mesmerized by their unique style and syncopated moves. They were extremely talented and entertaining in their unique dance style and personality!
Terry: Again, it was so hard to choose as there were so many good dances tonight! I’m going to have to go with Chaz Wolcott because I’m a sucker for a good tap routine! He nailed his routine and his personality shone through!
Kiamesha: My favorite dance was the routine by the girl with the tattoos. Her technique was great and matched her personality.
Brandon: Chaz Wolcott (who was also my second favorite audition of the night) performed my favorite routine. I’ve always loved seeing tap dancers on SYTYCD, and I found him extremely likable and charismatic. I’ve got my fingers crossed that he’s adept at other styles, because I’d really like to see him go far this season.
3. Which of tonight’s dancers do you think is going to be most capable of excelling in various styles?
Reagan: Kaylee Millis, hands down. She’s already shown mastery of two styles, it’s not a stretch to think she’s probably got more under her belt!
Austin: I’m going to go with Kaylee Millis! Her routine was a combination of contemporary and hip hop, and she excelled greatly at it! So she will definitely be capable of doing other styles!
Janine: I think Kaylee Millis will be the one to excel in most dance styles. She is quite determined and talented, so I think she will work harder than everyone else to master various dance techniques /genres.
Terry: I’m going to have to go with Chaz Wolcott. He’s had experience on Broadway (touring for Newsies) and I would think he’s been trained in other styles of dance.
Kiamesha: Not sure we’ll just have to see.
Brandon: Of tonight’s dancers, I have a feeling Kaylee and Koine Iwasaki may have the best chance at being great all-around dancers. Kaylee, in particular, seems like she has lots of surprises up her sleeve. But I can’t wait to see how both of them fare in The Academy.
4. How do you feel about Ryan Bailey, the contemporary dancer with a very unique dance style who went straight to The Academy?
Reagan: I like to think I understand dance. I usually “get it”. This time, I just did not. I was impressed by his leap, but I would’ve definitely put him through to choreography.
Austin: I thought his audition and style was weird, but you can tell he is still a very great dancer!! That back attitude leap into a turn while holding his foot was epic! He deserved to go through.
Janine: I did not find Ryan’s creative choices to be appealing, but I did get a sense that he is talented, so I was in agreement with sending him to The Academy.
Terry: Ryan Bailey was weird but intriguing for me. You can tell he has the technique. Is it possible we are witnessing the birth of a new style of dance? LOL I personally think he should have been sent to choreo. I would like to see if he can follow someone else’s instructions and do their choreography. I guess we will find out when he’s at the Academy!
Kiamesha: I loved his routine it was weird and different. He has potential and I can’t wait to see the different layers he has as a dancer.
Brandon: I usually like seeing dancers who have unique, quirky styles, but I’m not so sure about Ryan. It’s obvious he’s had training, and he had some interesting tricks that made me perk up, but like Nigel, I’m not sure Ryan’s style is for me. That being said, props to him for showing us something different. It will be interesting to see how he fares once he has to do other styles.
5. How do you feel about So You Think You Can Dance’s tendency to sometimes show auditions purely for humor, even at the expense of the dancers?
Reagan: I don’t like it. I understand that the dancers most likely understand what they are signing up for, but the idea of showing an audition purely for the purpose of laughing at someone for trying their hardest doesn’t sit right with me. Even if the dancers are auditioning purely to make it on TV and know they aren’t getting through, it still perpetuates the idea that it’s okay to put others down for amusement. Not a fan.
Austin: I’m not a big fan of it. I get if you want to go on and try your best, but don’t go on if you KNOW YOU’RE BAD!!! And I like watching people who have a passion for dance, even if they aren’t good. I don’t like people who just want to be on tv.
Janine: I think showing humorous auditions keeps us guessing during the show, but honestly I would rather see a Montage of humorous dancers and full-length auditions by talented dancers rather than the other way around.
Terry: I’m not a fan. Although I think some of the “dancers” only audition to be on TV so if they are embarrassed by it so be it.
Kiamesha: I think it shows the variety of dancers, even if they don’t make it to the next round.
Brandon: It’s not my favorite thing in the world, if I’m being honest. It’s always bugged me when bad auditions and “joke” auditions get tons of airtime, while genuinely talented and promising dancers get lumped into a quick montage (like b-boy Alex Diaz, animator/tutter Kyle Bennett Jr., and krumper Shaquile Worsley were), if they’re shown at all. SYTYCD doesn’t seem to do this as much as other reality-competition shows do (like Idol did, for example), which I’m grateful for, but it’s definitely not something I’m a fan of. It’s like the show wants us to laugh at the bad auditioners, which feels kind of mean-spirited.
6. With the vast majority of auditions shown, the dancers either go straight to The Academy or don’t get through at all. Are you surprised by how few dancers have gone to choreography?
Reagan: Yes, even though plenty are surely going to choreography off screen, I think more of these instances should be shown. Just because someone doesn’t completely master the audition doesn’t mean they aren’t one to watch. Show us more of the “gray area” dancers!!
Austin: I am! It seems more black-and-white this year. You’re either good or you’re not. I want to see some choreography by Mandy Moore already!!!!!!
Janine: My sense is many dancers are put through the choreography but the producers are choosing not to show us those dancers. I would like to see more of them.
Terry: I AM surprised. Although I think they are just not showing as much of the auditions because each show is only 1 hour per week. When they do show the choreography portion there are usually quite a few dancers. I blame it on the editing due to the shortened show format.
Kiamesha: I’m not surprised at all. We have a SPECTACULAR bunch to pick as the top 20.
Brandon: I’m pretty sure some talented dancers went through to choreography, and I’m surprised we haven’t seen much of them, especially since the show has been really promoting the fact that Mandy Moore, choreographer of “La La Land,” does the choreography rounds. Obviously, audition episodes have been cut down to just an hour this season, so I’m guessing they try to fit as much as they can into a smaller time period. Once again, I could do without some of the bad/joke auditions if it means we get a few more minutes of the choreography round per episode.
7. What is your favorite dance from any season of So You Think You Can Dance?
Reagan: I remember really liking Katee and tWitch’s “Mercy” from season 4 and Robert and Allison’s “Fix You” from season 7!
Austin: This is such a hard question, why must you ask this?!?! Oh wait I know… tWitch and Alex Wong when they did Outta Your Mind hip-hop duet! But even better…when tWitch and Ellen did it!!! I LOVE ELLEN!!!
Janine: Well this is a very tough question!!! There have been so many standout performances on this show, including solos, but my top dance is from Season 2, Heidi and Travishing “Calling You.” My favorite soloist dance is from Brandon Bryant, Season 5 runner up!
Terry: My favourite dance from any season is Bleeding Heart by Chelsie and Mark.
Kiamesha: OMG. There’s so many! However, I have 2. The first one was by Danny and Lacey. It was a waltz to “Keep Holding On” by Avril Lavigne. It was beautiful and pulled my heartstrings. My second one was performed by Melony and Neil. The one where she did the leap. I was watching it with my mom and we were stunned.
Brandon: As someone who has been obsessed with SYTYCD since the second season, this is such a hard question for me to answer, because I have at least a dozen favorites. No joke. Many of them are the standard answers you see all the time - “Gravity” with Kayla and Kupono, “Fix You” with Robert and Allison, “Outta Your Mind” with Alex and tWitch, “The Garden” with Mark and Courtney, etc. But I’m going to pick a less obvious one: “Get Low” with Emilio Dosal and Jasmine Harper (by Tabitha & Napoleon) from season 11. I didn’t think there were many good hip-hop routines that season, but that one made me jump up and shout at my TV, I was so enamored with it. And yes, I lost my mind all over again when I saw it live on tour a few months later!
Final Verdict: We’re in a New York state of mind after this amazing round of auditions!
The New York auditions did not disappoint! With a wide variety of techniques and styles, this round of auditions was a fantastic reminder of why we all love this show. And although the fanbase is split over things like funny auditions and unheard of dance styles, one thing is for certain! With so many amazing dancers and routines, it’s going to be a tough road to the top twenty for Nigel, Mary, and Vanessa. They have some tough decisions ahead of them. And we still have one more round of auditions to go before The Academy, so the best may even be yet to come! Unfortunately, FOX is showing an encore presentation of last week’s Los Angeles auditions next week, so we have two whole weeks to wait before we get to meet more dancers.
So You Think You Can Dance returns Monday, July 10th at 8/7C on FOX.
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