601: Season 6 Premiere Recap! Hip Hip Huzzah!

Click here to watch the LA Auditions Episode ▼/▲

Hey folks,

Wow. That whole year between seasons of SYTYCD really flew by this time, didn’t it? I mean, it feels like only a few weeks since I was live-blogging the coronation of Jeanine as Ameriker’s Favorite Dancer (Not to be confused with Ameriker’s Most Favoritest Dancer). What’s that you say? It’s only been a few weeks? So You Think You Can Dance is running a fall season directly after the summer season? Oh, sorry, that noise you hear is just me pulling on my happy pants, because, um, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE IS BACK!

Of course, we open on a recap of the past five summer seasons, and the show makes it very clear that a move into the fall is a big deal and they are not taking it lightly. And we already have a montage of people falling down, so maybe they’re taking it a little lightly. And YAY! First glimpse of Cat! Just these few seconds with her have already washed the meh taste of Leah Miller out of my mouth (sorry Canada). Apparently, this is their biggest audition tour ever. And apparently a move to the fall has drawn out ever crazier crazies (and yes, I am looking at you Mary Murphy). And our first glimpse of her, strutting her stuff on the Kodak Theater stage makes me think “Leah Who?” Also, this season looks AMAZING. Welcome to So You Think You Can Dance!

This year, we’re starting the audition tour in LA, and Cat is apparently wearing Mr. Burns’ vest from The Simpsons classic “See My Vest”. Aw Cat, even when you make questionable fashion choices, you’re still ridiculously adorable. At the jidges table are Nigel, Mary, and Shankers! Yay Shankers! You’re my favorite SYTYCD jidge (although Tre Armstrong from SYTYCDC is really gaining on you). Since recapping audition episodes is a weird task, I’m just going to discuss the dancers who stand out (aka get featured):

Cole Clemens- He’s always been a trendsetter. I really hope those pants he’s wearing and that hairstyle he’s sporting aren’t on their way to becoming trends. I would lose a lot of faith in my generation. And, really show, this is what you’re opening with? One of the crazies? Not some supremely awesome dancing to really grab us? This is awful, and as insulting as it is for the jidges to laugh at auditioners, this guy is clearly a joke. And doesn’t deserve any more mention than this. But Shankers unleashes a good amount of awesome in his comments here, so at least there’s that.

Mollee Gray- She was a dancer in all three High School Musicals, but I won’t hold that against her. She gets a video package from home, including an interview with her mom. So, I guess she’s our first member of the top 20? Although that didn’t mean much last season. Her audition is good, no, very good. It’s not jaw-dropping, but it gets progressively better, and is very much deserving of a ticket to Vegas. Shankers interjects during her audition that, like Jason, she is “SO this show”. Shankers is a huge fan and he adores watching her. Nigel and Mary love her too, although Nigel voices a worry about her personality not coming through when she dances. She goes straight to Vegas, as deserved.

David Hovhannisyan- He’s… um, kind of phenomenal. His technique seems exquisite. Mary applauds him for being the first person to really kill it up there.

Amanda Kirby- Is this the same person as Amanda Kerby?

Ryan Kasprzak- Ryan likes to think of himself as America’s 21st favorite dancer. Ryan wants to be the first tapper into the top 20. He’s dancing a capella and its just as good as he was last year. If not actually better. And by if not, I mean like 10x. Shankers gives him a standing o, and calls him a freakin’ artist, dubbing it the best auditions he’s ever seen on the show. Mary loved everything about it. Nigel also calls it one of the best auditions ever. He’s going straight to Vegas. And the Non-Evan Kasprzak is there to hug him.

Bianca Revels- She said last year that it would be her last year. But she’s re-evaluated things. So, either she doesn’t actually audition, or she’s gonna tap battle with Ryan. And, um, this may be the best thing we’ve seen on an audition show since Shanker’s impromptu dance last season. Scratch that, this may be the most fun thing we’ve seen in auditions ever. If one, if not both of these two don’t make the top 20, it’ll be a travesty. Shankers is speechless, and he agrees, this was the most fun thing he’s done ever. She’s goin’ straight to Vegas.

Christopher Aguilar- He wants to make a film, and that’s why he came to SYTYCD. He plays the lead and it’s about embodying the spirits of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It’s also called Drum Song, and it’s one of the strangest pre-audition packages we’ve ever seen. Which is fitting because his audition is strange too. He nearly cracks his head open on his first flip. But he’s one of the more entertaining wierdos the show has had in a while, so at least there’s that. But he’s not a strong dancer, so he’s not moving forward.

Amber Williams- She gets a video package from home about how her mom has been paralyzed after a botched surgery. I’m guessing she’s gonna make it far. Which I will be absolutely fine with, because she is an absolutely beautiful dancer. One of the best auditions of the past two seasons, IMO. Nigel wanted to see more of her charisma in her dancing. Mary calls her a force to be reckoned with. Shankers was blown away. Straight to Vegas for this one.

Alexie Agdeppa- The little bit of her audition we see is totally amazing. Enough to leave a very distinct impression on me after 5 seconds.

Paula Van Oppen- She seems like a shoo-in for this season’s top 20, and it’s completely acceptable because her movement is just so fearless and jaw-droppingly amazing that it’ll be a shame if she’s not in the top 20.

Christina Santana- She’s a salsa dancer, but with the some hip-hop pop-locking thrown into her audition. It’s an awesome combo. She could dance a little bigger, but it’s super-fun to watch. Nigel compliments her non-auditioning partner before calling it absolutely incredible. She goes straight to Vegas.

Phillip Attmore- He was Ryan Kasprzak’s roommate in the past and he wants to be the third ridiculously amazing tapper to make it to Vegas from LA. He also divulges that Ryan has a smiley face on his butt, which Cat tells us she will be verifying, because she’s Cat, and you know, awesome. And he should be the third ridiculously amazing tapper to make it to Vegas, because, well, it’s right there in the sentence, he’s ridiculously amazing. He’s a real performer up there. Nigel says this is the year of the tapper. Mary hopes he makes it all the way. Shankers calls it engaging and effortless. He’s going straight to Vegas.

So, we didn’t see any of the choreography rounds in LA, but they were done by Anya and Pasha, which is awesome that the show reuses their dancers, and is especially awesome because it’s Anya and Pasha. Next week, Phoenix hopefully brings the heat, features Mia saying “Wow. You’re Stupid” (which is great no matter whether it’s in a good or bad context), and the return of Same Sex Ballroom (but thankfully this couple looks much better). See you then Ameriker!