Updated- 603: Boston Auditions Open Thread And Recap!

Hey folks,

Good morning, or, should I say in honor of our Bahston auditions, good mahnin. (Note: This would also be a way to greet powerhouse Canadance contestant Melanie Mah). Since, as I said, it is morning, I’m going to dispense with the formalities and jump straight to the recapping. Sound good?

Cat is standing against the Charles river and wearing something roughly flesh-colored that’s not quite flattering. But she’s Cat, so we love her anyway. Cat dispenses with some punnery, gets people (including herself) to say “Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd”, and sends everyone in to warm up and get evaluated by Nigel, Mary, and Tyce. I think my thoughts on Tyce are known, but for anyone wondering: I don’t particularly like the man’s choreo or his personality. He’s been getting better, but he’s still bottom of the SYTYCD heap, IMO.

Teddy Tedholm- We saw his audition during last season’s result show, so I already know to expect good things. I can’t quite remember it, but he’s got golf pants. Apparently, that and a bow tie make him whimsical. Yeah, I’m confused too. But his solo is really good. Fun, good body control, and a clear story, plus really good musicality. His movement is dynamic, and I like him. He’s kind of endearing. Nigel loved the subtleties and thinks folks will vote for him. Mary didn’t know if he was crazy or brilliant, so she settled on both. Funny, I know which one of those two Mary is (Hint: The first). Tyce thinks he’s unique like his pants, and throws a bunch of good adjectives around. Straight to Vegas. He may have actually moved up to super endearing.

Jean Lloret- He’s a B-Boy without formal training but with some ridiculous power moves. He gets the jidges screaming like 15 seconds into his routine, and indeed, his power moves are ridic. It takes an insane amount of strength to do what he did. He gets a ticket straight to Vegas. Apparently, with the shortest judging time ever. So, I guess, since he has no formal training, as he said, he’s gonna have a tough time there, but at least we’ll maybe see him again.

Kimara Wood- The five seconds we see of his solo is really acrobatic and strong. He goes straight to Vegas.

Channing Cooke- She’s an ice cream scooper with a package from home, and since she’s also blonde and pretty, I’m sensing another member of our top 20 is right here, right now. As Joanna said, I see shades of Kherington. Her movement is pretty, but it feels oddly empty to me. She doesn’t seem to be feeling her routine, just dancing it. Yeah, she’s a good dancer, but in all honesty, I’m not feeling her. Oh wow, she even calls herself a tomboy just like Kherington. Nigel thinks she’s got a beautiful quality, and she’s everything he could ask for. Mary loved it. Tyce loves her, she’s awesome and amazing and fantastic, but he also thinks she needs to go further in the performance. Wow, I agree with Tyce. Who knew? She goes to Choreo.

Ryan Casey- He’s super-tall. Like, 6’8”. It makes him stand out, so he likes it. He’s a tapper, but he’s not as good as the trio of terrific tappers out of LA. But I like his audition, it’s got good musicality and feeling. Nigel thinks there are times when he looks ungainly, but he’s got really well educated angles. I wonder if they went to Hahvahd, since we’re in Boston. Mary thinks he brought it today, and liked that he could modulate the sounds coming from his feet. Tyce thinks he could control his arms more, but did a really good job. He goes to choreo.

Russell Ferguson- He wants to be the first krumper to make it to Vegas. I actually love his audition. It’s got really good power and speed, which seem like the necessities for krumping. He needs to work on not throwing his face so much, but I’m a definite fan. Nigel says it was buck, but as a solo, he finds krump too one-dimensional. He has a ton of training in other styles (including ballet, apparently). Mary can’t wait to see him in other styles. Tyce calls him one of his favorites in Boston. He goes to choreo. Can we talk about Tyce and I seem to be in serious agreement in Bahstahn? I’m kind of unnerved.

Fabrizio Jenkins- He’s a bigger guy, and, considering that we already saw him injure himself in the last outro, I am not looking forward to watching this again. His popping isn’t bad. He falls, and injures his ankle, but keeps going, which, major kudos to him. Apparently, it’s not actually an injury, or he just rolled his ankle or something. So he just fell over. The jidges all like the fun of the routine. Nigel actually makes a fairly funny joke about Mary’s ancestors having been the Salem witches. Mary sends Fabrizio through to choreo.

Day 1 Choreo: Anya and Pasha are putting our Choreo dancers through a ballroom routine. Apparently, his ankle was more sever than it seemed, because he leaves the competition. Channing’s partner outshines her (by, like, a lot), but I’m sure she’s gonna get through, and yup, she does. Tall tapper Ryan doesn’t make it through, but Krumper Russell does.

Karen and Matthew Hauer- They’re a married ballroom couple, who say it’s hard dancing with your spouse. I would think the built in connection could only help, but whatever. It’s a definitely sexy audition, and they’re both good and enjoyable to watch. I would maybe say he’s a little better than her, if only because he keeps drawing my attention despite the camera focusing on her. Mary thanks them for waking her up, calls Karen a hot tamale, and thinks they can dance. Tyce thinks they look and dance fantastic. They get tickets to Vegas.

Gene Burston- He’s a latin ballroom dancer, who loves his sexiness, and thinks his dancing seduces all the ladies. Cat interviews him, and is adorable, I know, shocker. I mean, ballroom solos are hard, as so SO many dancing for your life solos have shown us. Which is why I’m surprised by how good I think his solo is. I may just be fooled by his performative qualities. But my liking goes down as opposed to up as it goes on, so I’m not sure what that says. Mary’s worried about his face, which he needs to control, but she sees potential. Tyce thinks his face makes it seem a tiny bit desperate. Nigel liked his musicality. He goes to choreo.

Paul Maglioto- Well, it’s taken us this long to get a crazy, so I guess I should be really thankful for that. I mean, he’s wearing blue tights and has noting at all interesting in his movement or anything. I feel bad for devoting this much text to him. Nigel thought it felt like ice skating, and, considering he’s 46, he’s not actually eligible for the show. Nigel doesn’t want to be rude, but he is anyway. Mary thought it looked crazy, and she knows crazy. Tyce didn’t think he was serious, but apparently, he was. Continuing the rude train, Mary calls him off his rocker while he’s trying to explain himself.

Bitchy Tyce Montage- Apparently, they just condensed all his bitchiness into one video package. Thanks for that editors!

Kevin “K-Bez” Hunt- He auditioned two seasons ago for season three, so apparently, he has trouble counting. His audition is good, with strong musicality and dynamic motion. I mean, it’s nowhere near the best audition we’ve seen, but considering the lack of hip-hoppers recently, he should go through. Mary still doesn’t know if he’s strong enough since the bar has been raised since he left and trained. Nigel thought he was good and had good musicality. Tyce’s bitchiness apparently isn’t only in that package, since he has a full on bitch-attack towards Kevin. He goes to choreo.

Choreo Day 2: Since it’s ballroom, Gene seems to be at an advantage. K-Bez and Gene both make it to Vegas.

Next week we go to Atlanta, and there’s a LOT of talent in the audition package. And we end on a strong Cat Deeley pun, so that’s always nice. See you next week!