SYTYCD Season 11 Finale

Well, my friends, it is truly the end of summer now that So You Think You Can Dance is coming to a close. The real question is - will it be renewed for another season? It would really be nice to know ahead of time so we could have a sort of retrospective of the best dances ever, wouldn't it? Alas. Anyhow, tonight is not about that, tonight is about Ricky, Jessica, Zack and Valerie, the final four of season 11. As you know, before we find out the results, we get treated to some of the best dances from the season along with some new ones to join the mix.

So let's get on with it! On the judging panel is Tara Lipinski, Adam Shankman, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Debbie Allen, along with Mary and Nigel of course. So let's see their favorites and the final four's favorites as well (all are clickable to view)...

Mary Murphy - Jessica & Casey - Travis Wall contemporary

Debbie Allen - Ricky & Valerie - Pharside and Phoenix hip hop

Zack Everheart - Zack & All-Star Amy - Sony Tayeh contemporary

Nigel Lythgoe - Rudy & All-Star Allison - Ray Leeper jazz

Valerie Rockey - Valerie & Zack - Anthony Morigerato tap

Ricky Ubeda - Ricky & Jessica - Sonya Tayeh contemporary

America's Twitter Choice - Carly & Serge - Luther Brown hip hop (it's the one I voted for!)

Jenna Dewan Tatum - Tanisha & Rudy - Sonya Tayeh jazz

Adam Shankman - Zack & Ricky - Pharside and Phoenix hip hop

Tara Lipinski - Emilio and All-Star Jasmine - NapTab hip hop

Jessica Richens - Jessica & All-Star Robert - Travis Wall contemporary

Cat Deeley - Ricky & Valerie - Travis Wall contemporary

Throughout the show, the results were given. Zack was in fourth place, Jessica in third... which leaves it down to the duo of Ricky and Valerie.

And the winner is....

 RICKY!

To me it was a bit of a foregone conclusion this season, but that's not to say he isn't deserving. Yay Ricky! And congrats to Valerie for making it as far as she did, because I didn't really see that happening, I must say.

Well, here we are at the end of the line. Are you happy with Ricky's victory, or were you hoping someone else would win? Let me know in the comments!

Previous Episode 

SYTYCD S11 - Top 4 Perform

Can you believe we're only one week away from the finale? Where has the summer gone? Gone fast away, is what it's done. Anyhow, joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel tonight is Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who we haven't seen in quite some time. Tonight the dancers are just performing, and their votes from last week and this week will be combined together for the final vote to determine who wins next week. And as a side note, Cat looks great tonight in that sparkly fringe number.

Okay! On to the dances. Tonight everyone dances together and with an all-star.

Valerie and Ricky - African jazz from Sean Cheesman. You know, I am quite often critical of Valerie, but she seemed pretty great in that one, though I do think she had a bit of a weird face sometimes. That was definitely a highly energetic routine and they were in sync how they were supposed to be.

Jessica and Zack - Broadway from Spencer Liff. That was a super cute and fun routine. I rarely like Broadway numbers, but that one felt more like a jazz piece than anything. They were both really great in it as well, they look like they could go straight to Broadway right now. I always wonder when they have a dress that whips around a bit if it can be a bit distracting or if it ever gets caught in the shoe funny. Anyhow.

Valerie and Zack - Contemporary from Tyce Diorio. I know we already saw them do a tap routine together, but I kind of wish we were again. Oh well. Valerie has to act blind in this one. Tyce loves to do stuff like that. But I feel like it gives Zack a bit of an advantage because he is really doing more dancing than her. That was overall a quiet routine, more acting than dancing really.

Jessica and Ricky - Jazz from Ray Leeper. Obviously nothing can really top their other routine together, but that was still a lot of fun from them. They were hitting it hard. It's really too bad we haven't seen them do more routines together because they really do work really well together.

Jessica and Valerie - Bollywood from Nakul. I don't think we've ever seen a two girl version of the Bollywood, have we? It felt a little short for some reason. I thought Jessica was a bit sharper in her hand movements, though Valerie still did well. Jessica just looked like she felt a little bit more comfortable.

Zack and Ricky - Hip hop from Phoenix and Pharside. That routine was tons of fun, probably my favorite of the night so far. They were both hitting it incredibly hard, honestly they both did it so well, could not tell that they aren't hip hop dancers. If I had to give it to one of them, since it was technically a battle, you know what? I have to give it to Zack! I think he hit it just a little bit harder. Yeah Zack! They get one of the only Mary screams of the season, and yes they deserve it.

Valerie and all-star Aaron - Tap from Anthony Morigerato. This is a classic example of telling a story without any words. Their feet are doing all of the talking here, and it's great that you can do that with tap. That was definitely a fun number, and I'm happy that we got to see some tap in the performance finale. "Nigel's on a Burning Man vibe, he loves everybody!" Haha, thanks Cat.

Ricky - Solo. Wow. Definitely one of the best solos I think I've ever seen on this show, and I've seen a lot of them.

Ricky and all-star Kathryn - Contemporary from Stacey Tookey. Ethereal, quite beautiful routine. I liked the soft music in this one; it really complimented the routine very well. Crazy that he went from that hip hop to this contemporary without breaking a sweat. "Hey Ricky you're so great, if you were older we could date" - that's just one of the many bon mots from Jesse Tyler Ferguson tonight. And then Nigel brings it around to suicide issues, eesh.

Valerie - Solo. Did she just dance to a song of her own name? I honestly wish she would've just done one without any music, but whatevs.

Zack and all-star Aaron - Tap from Anthony Morigerato. That routine brought a big smile to my face. They are really on par with one another. And I really loved that ending bit where they were matching the beats to the music so well. I always love to see Zack do tap because he really is so great at it. I'm not writing about it a lot necessarily, but it was one of the best of the night as well.

Jessica - Solo. Interesting choice of doing the same son as she did in her audition. Is this the same routine in general? Wait, did I miss that that's what they're all doing or is it just her? Confused!

Jessica and all-star Robert - Contemporary from Travis Wall. Well, as if you would expect anything less than greatness from that combination of dancers and choreographer, right? I also liked the red lighting for that routine, it really made it stark and cool with that song selection.

Zack - Solo. Never knew he had to go to choreography in his audition! Interesting. That was a fun little routine, it was nice to see him pair to some music well at the end there.

Well! That's it for tonight! Next week is the big finale. Who are you hoping to see take home the crown? Do we think there will be an upset or does Ricky just have this in the bag already? The only one I would be upset at seeing win would probably be Valerie. She's good, yes, but not the best left here. Until next time!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S11 - Top 6 Perform, 2 Eliminated

Only a few more episodes left in this season of SYTYCD! Tonight is the pre-performance finale, and I'm not quite sure who is going to make through apart from Ricky and Jessica, who seem to be shoe-ins at this point. But, before we get to that, we have tonight's dances to contend with, and joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel is returning favorite Christina Applegate. And apparently the voices cast tonight are going to be added into the votes from next week's show to determine the final vote.


Ricky and Valerie - Broadway from Spencer Liff. Cute little routine, perfect for the pair of them together with their cutesiness. Ricky just glides across the stage, his extensions are crazy. Valerie held her own as well. I know I'm always a bit more critical of her, but it's just hard when she's next to such amazing other dancers.

Jessica and Casey - Disco from Doriana Sanchez. First of all, her hair is crazy. That opening spin lift move? Also crazy. This is one dance where her face pulling works better. This is definitely a lift-centric dance and probably Casey is maybe the only male dancer left who could really pull it off. It did end a little bit abruptly, though, right? But it was pretty great besides that. I'm not always a fan of disco but that was pretty fun.

Ricky - Solo. I mean, his legs do these crazy backbend things that are just insane. Always a pleasure to watch his solos.

Jacque and Zack - Foxtrot from Jean Marc Genereux. I really wish Tanisha was still here. Honestly, I'm not sure how Jacque has made it this far, as she never really stands out to me. Not that she's bad or anything of course, just... eh? I wish they were giving Zack some more exciting stuff, but perhaps in his next dance. I just like to see him being so easily versatile. Mary says the routine was a little rough around the edges and not glidey enough. I admit I may have not been paying much attention, which maybe says it all. Nigel says "if you make it through" tonight which does not bode well for them.

Jessica - Solo. I think maybe that was her best solo that I've seen, though we haven't really seen many solos this season.

Valerie and all-star tWitch - Hip hop from Wildebeast. Whoops, missed the little napkin thing. Ehhhhh I'm not so sure about that. Valerie looked much more comfortable in the routine in the rehearsal footage than in this performance. She wasn't quite getting down enough for my taste. This was a pretty cool choreography with a fun little story that I enjoyed, I just kind of wish another girl had done it, though perhaps not any of these girls left in the competition. The judges are all pretty complimentary, though. I don't get it?! Sheesh.

Casey - Solo. He's such an athletic dancer, he really uses his whole body.

Valerie - Solo. This is definitely the most energy I think I've ever seen her show in her solo, which is great.

Jacque and all star Will - Contemporary from Sean Cheesman. This is a cute, sweet little routine. I enjoyed the ball prop in the beginning, they handled it quite well and I kind of wished they had kept it throughout the whole thing. I'm not sure this is the most memorable routine of all time, though Cat says she thinks people will remember it. I guess it is sort of the "ball routine" so that does make it memorable.

Zack - Solo. Why do I like the slide moves from tappers so much? They always look like they're going to fall and then... nope!

Jessica and all star Ade - Jazz from Ray Leeper. OMG what is that outfit? No, just no. It's a shame the outfit is so distracting because the routine is actually a lot of fun and also super weird at the same time. Nonetheless, quite enjoyable. Nigel doesn't love it while the two ladies are a bit more complimentary. He also comments on her solo not being quite up to snuff either.

Jacque - Solo. She has a whole theme to her solo which is fun. Not sure she should've done something as light for this solo, but what can ya do.

Ricky and all star Anya - Cha cha from Jean Marc Genereux. Anya is just too sexy. Somehow I wish she and Tanisha could've done this together, even though that makes no sense. Anyway! I'm not really sure if I know if Ricky did great at that or not, but according to all of the judges he did it well and looked like he had been doing it for years.

Casey and all star Mackenzie - Contemporary from Stacey Tookey. Quite a beautiful routine. It's tough because I wish somehow that both Casey and Zack could move on to the finale instead of one of the other girls. I always seem to be a big fan of the contemporary routines, perhaps because it's the most emotional. Mary calls it the best of the season for him.

Zack and all star Fik-Shun - Hip hop from Phillip Chbeeb. Wow, that was a pretty cool routine. A great idea from Phillip, and always a pleasure to see Fik-Shun doing his great thing. Obviously he was better than Zack because it was just more fluid, but Zack was holding his own. I really enjoyed it and can see why it was the closing number of the night. Jeez Nigel, saying you'd be shocked if he made the finale is a bit rude, at least you tried to cover your tracks there.

But now it's time for the results. Time to find out who has made the finale. And the final four dancers are... Jessica, Ricky, Valerie, Zack

Meaning out tonight are.... Jacque and Casey

Wow! I'm really impressed Zack has made it to the finale! I love Casey as well, but you can only have two out of the three guys so I guess that's just the way it is. Jacque I'm not quite so surprised about, more surprised that she made it this far. Anywho, I think it's pretty much decided that it's between Ricky and Jessica at this point.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S11 - Top 8 Perform, 2 Eliminated

We're heading fast toward the finale here, aren't we? Which must mean we are also heading fast toward the end of summer, if you can believe it. Although here in Los Angeles, school is already back in session, making driving to work all the more annoying, so I guess summer is already sort of over for me. But let's get back to something much more fun than traffic - dancing! Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel this week is Jenna Dewan-Tatum for the special Michael Jackson tribute show.

Along with the partner dances with all-stars, we are also seeing everyone's solos as well.

Tanisha - Solo. Wow, talk about sexy. She just knows how to sell that.

Ricky and all-star Jaimie - Travis Wall contemporary. I'm not sure I entirely got the "message" of this dance where Jaimie was supposed to be depressed and Ricky was supposed to be the light, blah blah. I guess because she didn't seem that depressed in the beginning. It was beautifully danced, though, of course. I'm not sure there's anything he can do wrong. And of course he is safe, I mean if he wasn't safe, that would be the shock.

Zack - Solo. It's nice to finally see him do some tap. He's really great at the slide-y type moves. Very fun.

Valerie and all-star Ryan - Jean Marc Genereux samba. I think that's the most skin we've ever seen her show, whoa. I'm not sure I thought that was the best samba in the world. Those samba rolls could have used a little bit more work. The rest of it was pretty good, though. Mary gives her quite a few compliments, though, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Is she safe, though? Wow, she IS safe, even though they didn't much like her routine last week.

Casey - Solo. I mean, I love his music choice. He's definitely a strong dancer, but I always feel like I lack a little personality or something.

Rudy - Solo. His solo is all about strength rather than pure elegance, which plays to his strengths. Definitely a good solo.

Casey and all-star Comfort - Pharside and Phoenix hip hop. I am so distracted by the black widow marking on Comfort, ack. She is pretty much out-dancing him, though he does hold his own. He definitely had a lot more personality in this than he normally does, especially since the routine was pretty theatrical. Nigel makes a "whatever happens in the show" comment which makes me think he is in danger. And as Cat reveals, he is in the bottom.

Jacque - Solo. She is definitely the best when she is doing her ballet thing. Nice and elegant.

Tanisha and all-star Nick - Stacey Tookey contemporary. A nice little routine, I suppose, though I didn't find anything that was particularly memorable about it. I was honestly kind of distracted by the music in this one. And sadly it looks like Tanisha is going to be in the bottom just based on logic, boo. Nigel comments that she needs to show more of her vulnerable side, and I guess that is probably true in terms of gaining votes, as yes, she is in the bottom two.

Jessica - Solo. Man this is just full of the things that kind of bother me about her. Too much hairography and face pulling.

Rudy and all-star Allison - Ray Leeper jazz (? I guess it's considered jazz). Can we just have Allison in all of the things? I must admit I was watching her nearly the entire time. Yeah, Rudy was good, but I feel like it was just more of his strong stuff when they said he should be a bit more vulnerable? I really did like the routine on the whole, though, it was a great combo with the Dirty Diana song and the choreography. The audience is going crazy, so it's actually a bit of a surprise he's in the bottom.

Valerie - Solo. It's always fun to see Valerie tap as well, but if I had to choose I would probably pick Zack to watch? Not that I don't like her, I do!

Zack and all-star Mackenzie - Spencer Liff Broadway. You know, I really like Zack. He's become one of my favorites just because he is so versatile and it's always such a surprise when he does so well. That being said, I'm not sure I really liked this routine. It felt just slightly lackluster to me, though I'm not entirely sure that was his fault necessarily. Nigel seemed a bit lukewarm on the routine as well, though he was fairly complimentary. He IS safe this week, though, thanks to his great routine last week.

Ricky - Solo. I mean, this is why he is the frontrunner. There's just so much emotion in his movement, I don't even know how to explain it.

Jacque and all-star tWitch - Dave Scott hip hop. I mean, again tWitch is just so great that I just want to watch him the whole time. She did okay, but she could've hit harder and gotten down more as well. I'm not sure the judges are going to necessarily agree with me this time around, but eh. The judges have hardly any criticism lately, it seems. Is she in the bottom? She is, even though her routine last week was so good.

Jessica and all-star Will - Mandy Moore contemporary. Definitely a strong routine. I kind of forgot about Will, but he definitely brings a manly strength to the stage. We do already know that Jessica is safe this week, which I suppose is not a surprise considering she seems to have a lot of votes. She is apparently super popular, though I've never been the biggest fan personally, though I'm not sure I can say why exactly. The judges all love it, though.

Okay, now we get down the brass tacks. Who is going home this week?

Tanisha and Rudy

I mean... I guess Jacque had a better routine than Tanisha last week, but Tanisha is a better dancer than her in my opinion. Sigh. I do agree with the Rudy versus Casey showdown though. I feel like it's definitely going to be Jessica and Valerie as the top two girls, with Ricky and either Casey or Zack in the top two, it could go either way on those two. What do you think?

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S11 - Top 10 Perform, 2 Eliminated

We're already to the top ten? That's how I'm feeling right now, I kind of can't believe it's already time for that. As in the past few seasons, this episode features the introduction of the all-stars. Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel this week is Tara Lipinski, even though they no longer decide who goes home at this point, instead relying on the votes. And tonight the votes are revealed individually rather than all at once. Sheesh.

And on to it then...

Bridget and all-star Brandon - Bollywood disco from Nakul Dev Mahajan - Brandon always gets the disco numbers, doesn't he? They seemed a bit off sync-wise there at the beginning. She did seem a bit behind Brandon, but was good overall, it was a super fast routine after all. The judges are pretty effusive, but is she in the bottom two girls? In fact, she is. Not that surprised.

Tanisha and all-star Ryan - Argentine tango from Miriam and Leonardo - Wow, this is a hot routine. And they are pretty much killing it. So many lift kicky things that just look really cool. Tanisha is turning out to be pretty dang amazing. Mary practically hyperventilates after the routine ends, but I kind of agree with her. And of course she is safe, duh.

Emilio and all-star Jasmine - Hip hop from NapTab - Is this the first NapTab routine of the season? I think it is. And... hmm. I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. I thought it was only okay. Perhaps because it was distracting because she's so much taller than him? Hmm. The judges are all effusive so maybe I'm just crazy? Now the question - is he in the bottom? Yes he is.

Valerie and all-star Ade - Jazz from Tyce Diorio - You know, I haven't been the highest on Valerie throughout the season, but I thought she was pretty great in that one. I also loved the music. Tara says she isn't as emotionally connected, and Mary agrees. Funny, usually I agree with the judges but I'm disagreeing with them a lot tonight! She is still safe, though.

Rudy and all-star Jenna - Cha cha from Louis Van Amstel - I'm not 100% feeling this one. I think it's something to do with their connection. He seems to be playing more to audience than connecting with her and it's supposed to be about their hotness connection. I mean, am I crazy? Because Mary loves it too, even going full on hot tamale train. At least Nigel comments on his hamming for the camera too much. And yes he is safe too, duh.

Jacque and all-star Chehon - Contemporary ballet from Travis Wall - Well, is there anything Travis can't choreograph? That was really quite beautiful, especially with how the lighting cast their shadows on the background as well. This is the first time I've really cared much about her, which makes me pretty sure she is going to be in the bottom now. And.... she is.

Ricky and all-star Lauren - Jazz from Mandy Moore - I mean, it was a good routine and they danced it well, but I just wasn't that into it. I did like the ending leg roll thingy. I'm just not sure I really cared about the routine or how memorable it is for me in the end. And der her der Ricky is obviously safe.

Casey and all-star Kathryn - Broadway from Spencer Liff - That was quite a fun routine. I'm not always a huge Broadway fan, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It was much hotter and not quite so over the top as some others we've seen on this show. He's had an upward trajectory on the show and is really quite likeable. But is he in the bottom? No.... which only leaves one. Poor Zack.

Jessica and all-star tWitch - Hip hop from NapTab - That was a cute little routine. tWitch is awesome, of course. Jessica holds her own with him too. I think that one was a lot more fun than the other NapTab dance tonight. Jessica finally seems to be coming back into her own now as compared to a few down weeks. And if you've been paying attention, we know she is safe.

Zack and all-star Amy - Contemporary from Sonya Tayeh - Well, that was a pretty powerful one. I had some chills there at the end. I loved the choice of quiet music with the rain in the background. Amy of course was awesome as well. And poor Zack is in the bottom, I just hope he isn't the one to go home.

And now it's time for the dreaded results. But at least America gets it right. The two going home tonight are:

Bridget and Emilio

It's going to be quite tough after these two now, because it's getting harder and harder to say who will be in the bottom. Is this the first time we've had a goodbye package this season as well? I could be wrong but I think it is. I'm honestly not sure who will be in the bottom next week. If I had my druthers it would probably include Rudy, though I'm not sure who besides him. I suppose if I had to pick a girl it would be Valerie? Argh.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S11 - Top 14 Perform, 4 Eliminated

I don't often comment on the opening routines for some reason, but I really liked the one from tonight, by choreographer Stacey Tookey. Tonight is a tough night, though, as not two but four of these kids are going to be sent packing until we get our top ten. Helping Nigel and Mary with the decisions tonight is Christina Applegate. And they are letting them do solos tonight as well.

But before they make their decisions, we need to know just who is in danger, and they are....
Serge
Carly
Teddy
Emily
Casey
Jessica

And now on to the dances...

Bridget and Emilio - Ray Leeper jazz. I'm not sure I'm really getting creepy demon from this dance, but I am noticing that Bridget is super sharp with her moves. She may be emerging as my favorite girl this season, which I never would've thought from the beginning. The judges are pretty complimentary of Emilio.

Tanisha and Rudy - Mandy Moore contemporary. Tanisha is another one I wasn't sure I was going to be a big fan of, since she is a ballroom dancer. But she is extremely versatile and great again in this contemporary. That one-handed lift thing was pretty crazy too. Definitely fits the seduction theme. The judges all love it.

Serge - Solo time. Always weird to see the ballroom solos. Sad to say I am pretty sure he's going home tonight. While he certainly has some crazy fancy footwork, I don't think they will keep him over Teddy or Casey.

Jacque and Zack - Jean-Marc Genereux paso doble. The music and lighting are super distracting in this one. I'm not sure I would have any idea that was a paso doble if I hadn't been told it beforehand. They danced it well enough, but I'm not sure it was my favorite.

Carly - Solo time. She's doing a lot of strutting, not sure she's doing a lot of dancing other than the long spin move.

Emily and Teddy - Warren Carlyle Broadway. This is a very classic style Broadway routine without the super cheesy factor. Dare I say that maybe it's a little bit boring, though? They don't look quite as light on their feet as I would expect. Nigel comments that they were a bit all over the place near the end, and the others agree as well. Things do not look good for their top ten chances.

Casey - Solo time. Can someone tell these kids that just doing a long spin thing isn't quite enough? I do think he's doing more than Carly did, though.

Emily - Solo time. Now this is a solo. She actually planned it out and didn't just dance around aimlessly.

Jessica and Casey - Travis Wall contemporary. Well, that seems to be made for them make it through the bottom, doesn't it? These two would've been much better together from the beginning, they have much more chemistry than they had with their other partners. And the judges are on their feet, pretty much securing their spots I think.

Teddy - Solo time. it's nice to actually see Teddy do something in his own style, because honestly I didn't really know he was a hip hop style guy. A fun little routine.

Carly and Serge - Jean-Marc Genereux quickstep. Oh gosh, the kiss of death. Do you need any more evidence of who will be staying? Sheesh. Carly's arms seem a little flaily. Serge is actually kind of killing it in this, but I don't think it's enough. The judges are pretty complimentary, but the praise is a bit quiet if that makes sense.

Jessica - Solo time. She's going full force seductive. I think I liked Emily's solo more, but this was a bit better than Carly.

Valerie and Ricky - Pharside and Phoenix hip hop. Um, I looooved that! You know, I always enjoy hip hop when it's done well. That leg wave thing was pretty amazing, and I was really impressed with both of them in this. They were both getting down and in character pretty completely. Great. The judges all loved it as well; Mary even called it her favorite number of the night.

Top 7 Girls - Mandy Moore routine. If Mandy didn't want it to seem super pretty, perhaps they shouldn't have worn such flowy dresses? They did have the power too as she was talking about. Enjoyable routine to watch. The girls are all very emotional after.

Top 7 Guys - Travis Wall routine. I wasn't sure about the dress pant combo thing at first, but it helps to make it look more like they're in water. Very ethereal routine for a group of guys, which isn't often something you see for a group of guys.

But now it's time to find out who made it through to the top ten from the bottom dancers... And the two they are saving are, to no one's surprise...

Jessica and Casey.

Which means farewell to Carly, Serge, Emily and Teddy.

And one more thing! The all-stars are coming next week. And the first ones to feature are, with their partners...

Rudy and Jenna
Jacque and Chehon
Zack and Amy
Bridget and Brandon
Ricky and Lauren
Tanisha and Ryan
Emilio and Jasmine
Valerie and Ade
Casey and Kathryn
Jessica and tWitch

And... phew! That's it for this week. Are you happy with the top ten? Anyone you wish had made it instead? I feel like so far the eliminations haven't been that surprising. Now is when it will start to get a bit tougher. None of the routines tonight were outright bad, so I'm not sure who may be in danger next week. Are they also going to go down to just two each in the bottom instead of three at this point too? I can't really remember what has happened in the past (am just too gosh darn lazy to go look it up). I don't think I can make predictions this time! Ack!

Previous Episodes -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S11 - Top 16 Perform, 2 Eliminated

Welcome back, dance fans! We're getting closer and closer to the top ten tonight with two more dancers going home. Apparently Misty has had some kind of three episode run for guest judging, and tonight is her last night. I think I'm going to miss her, though, as she is one of the only ones to actually give criticism, it seems. Anyhow, here we go! First up we find out who the bottom six are...

Bottom Six:

Bridget
Marcquet
Brooklyn
Serge
Tanisha
Zack

Valerie and Ricky - Nakul Bollywood. Nakul said this was supposed to be a sexy routine, but I kind of feel their brother-sister vibe coming through. They did seem to perform the steps well enough, but I'm not sure if it really entertained me that much. But the judges are pretty praise-worthy, although Misty does comment that Valerie could be a bit more precise.

Bridget and Emilio - Travis Wall contemporary. Immediately I love the song choice. I was really quite mesmerized by the whole thing, I didn't want it to end. Wow. That was really good, and really impressive for Bridget. I definitely don't think she's the one going home tonight.

Tanisha and Rudy - Dave Scott hip hop. The set design here with the lighting is pretty great. She's actually hitting it pretty hard, which I wasn't necessarily expecting. My eyes are consistently drawn to her throughout the routine. Rudy isn't bad but it was hard to take my eyes off her. They definitely had more sexual chemistry than Valerie and Ricky.

Jessica and Marcquet - Dmitry Chaplin foxtrot. Oh gosh, a foxtrot. At least it's not a quickstep. She looks pretty smoking in that dress. This is a pretty sexy routine with the music choice too. Not a typical foxtrot in that way, seems like more of a story, which is really helpful for them. Slinky and slow. She still smiles too much though. Mary doesn't like it, though, with technical issues, particularly against Marcquet.

Carly and Serge - Mandy Moore contemporary. They performed this routine well enough, but I'm not sure it was super memorable for me. It was just kind of another contemporary partner dance. But they did do it well, and that last move she did where she slowly backbended down to the floor was kind of crazy. Based on comments I feel Marcquet is not long for this competition.

Emily and Teddy - Oksana Dmytrenko and Jonathan Platero salsa. Uh oh, Emily has a big slip in the beginning. She seems super uncomfortable in those shoes. This is a bit of a mess. They pull off the lifts but the footwork is a little crazy. I'm not sure if it's just her or not, though. They got through it, which isn't necessarily enough. They do seem to say Teddy did pretty well, but I was just distracted by Emily unfortunately. Apparently she dislocated her shoulder this morning.

Jacque and Zack - Sonya Tayeh jazz. Zack is killing it. I don't think there's any way he's going home based on this. That was a cool song choice as well. It was a cool routine overall, which is pretty much always the case with Sony's jazz pieces. Nigel comments that he didn't feel very much emotion from it, and I guess yes I do agree, though I still enjoyed it. Misty gives Jacque some constructive criticism as well.

Brooklyn and Casey - Willdabeast hip hop. What's with his shorts? Did his pants rip? This is more of a classic hard hitting hip hop piece. She's hitting it pretty hard, and might actually be doing better than Casey, but I still don't think she has much of a chance of making it past tonight. Judges are a bit tepid, though they do agree that Brooklyn was better than they expected.

Mini group routine from Sonya Tayeh. Wow. That was a pretty awesome routine, I must say. Impressive. Tanisha really stood out to me in this one, which Misty comments on as well. I noticed Casey in it as well.

Mini group routine from Travis Wall. It's good but not as amazing as Sonya's. Ricky stood out the most to me in this one, which Misty also comments on! Am I secretly BFF with Misty? Because we seem to have a lot of similar comments tonight! Mary goes into full on scream mode.

And after a performance that I admittedly just fastforwarded through, we find out who is sent home, and the two unfortunate souls are (oh yes you know I just made a Little Mermaid reference)...

Marcquet and Brooklyn

Not a surprise in the least to me! Especially since they were the only two I actually thought for sure would be in the bottom this week. Are they going to start calling Jessica the black widow? She can't seem to keep a partner. Although next week she'll be with Casey so perhaps she'll have better luck. But who do I think will be in danger next week, when they're going to lose FOUR people? I mean, Emily and Teddy should be just because that was pretty bad. Valerie? Serge again just because he's not a hot young guy? I'm not sure! What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Until next week...

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S11 - Top 18 Perform, 2 Eliminated

Would you like at that, Misty Copeland is back again this week to join the judging panel! When was the last time we had the same guest judge two weeks in a row? I like it, though, because she actually gives constructive criticism rather than just says it was good to her or whatever.

The Bottom Six Dancers:
Bridget
Emilio
Emily
Stanley
Jourdan
Teddy

It is an interesting thing this year that we don't vote for couples anymore, just individuals. Didn't it used to be votes by couples? Pretty sure, yes. BEfore the results, though, it's time for some dance!

Jacque & Zack - Keone and Mari hip hop. I wasn't sure of their hip hop skills at first, but they definitely got better as it went on as they seemed to gain more confidence. This was more of a slow hip hop than a hard hitting one. I like these two quite a lot, actually.

Jourdan & Marcquet - Dee Caspary contemporary. The suspended umbrellas on the stage are a pretty cool backdrop, though I'm not sure I get their meaning. It was quite a lovely little routine, though I think maybe I agree with Nigel that it's hard to connect to the pair of them emotionally. They are picking on her a little bit, which doesn't bode well for her later.

Jessica & Stanley - Tyce Diorio jazz. They're supposed to look like they're flying through the air on a carpet in this routine, and I'm not quite it's doing that, but is it their fault? Because the music to me is super distracting. Jessica smiles a little too much in all of her routines. Stanley still seems a bit like a non-entity to me.

Bridget & Emilio - Anya and Pasha jive. Their little puppetry moves at the end were really cute. That was a fun routine, I don't think these two are in trouble this week based on that (or based on the judges' comments). They seemed to do pretty well in the style, and it made me like Bridget more.

Emily & Teddy  - Tyce Diorio contemporary. Oh gosh, two Tyce routines in one night? At least it's not Broadway. With the music, it felt a bit like we were watching a scene from a movie or something. The judges loved it, which does not bode well for Jourdan and Stanley.

Brooklyn & Casey - Bonnie Story jazz. My eyes are drawn way more to Casey in this than Brooklyn, which is something I fear is going to happen a lot with her. That was a jam packed routine, and they performed it pretty well, particularly him, which all of the judges seem to agree with.

Valerie & Ricky - Lacey Schwimmer Viennese Waltz. The waltz is a tough customer on this here SYTYCD. This wasn't a complete disaster, but I'm not sure it was the best ever. Valerie kind of seemed to struggle in a couple spots to my eye, but do the judges agree? Maybe not, because Nigel is on his feet. Mary has some constructive criticism for the technique, which must be what I was seeing.

Carly & Serge - Luther Brown hip hop. That slide thing they did was cool. It was a pretty cool routine in general, sort of creepy. Nigel isn't sure if it's going to get a lot of votes, and I kind of agree because it's not something that is super emotional or makes you connect to them as dancers, even though they both danced it well.

Tanisha & Rudy - Warren Carlisle Broadway. That was quite a fun one. Was really worried they might throw their canes at some point, but they did it really well. That took a lot of energy, wow. It got the judges all on their feet and are generally pretty effusive. Nigel says Rudy has a magic quality about him, and do we think that may take him to the top two guys?

But now it's time for the results... the two going home tonight are, based on America's vote...

Jourdan and Stanley.

Not really surprised here, particularly based on the comments throughout the show. Also I guess I was right about who would be in the bottom based on what I said last week! So hmm, can we keep it going? Who do I think may be in danger next week? Marcquet, Brooklyn, perhaps Carly and Serge. Again I think Jessica probably should be but won't. Guess we'll see next week if my streak can continue!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S11 - Top 20 Perform, 2 Eliminated

Why did I think that four people were going home tonight? Must've misunderstood something, because it's actually only two going home. Phew. Because that would've been a bit crazy. Guest judge Misty Copeland is back this week, and she is a very articulate judge. And wow, they just go straight into the bottom dancers right off the bat.

Real quick though, what do we think of these weird outline transition things they've got going on this season? They're a bit hokey to me, but then I'm being rather nitpicky I suppose.

Bottom Six Dancers:
Brooklyn
Casey
Jourdan
Nick
Malene
Serge

I'm a bit surprised by Nick and Malene, but the rest not really. But let's not dwell too long, because now it's time to team up with new partners and new dancers... The real question is, are the people in the bottom paired up together to make it easy to go home?

Tanisha & Rudy - Sonya Tayeh jazz - Very strong movement in that routine. I'm not sure it was really super memorable in the grand scheme of things, but I did enjoy it. They both performed it pretty well; Rudy still gets some constructive criticism.

Valerie & Ricky - Travis Wall contemporary - are we thinking Valerie got pretty lucky getting paired with Ricky? It's interesting because she seems almost taller than him. Whoa that backbend thing was scary! Eek! It's an interesting dynamic with them. Will be interesting to see them do other styles that aren't quite in Ricky's wheelhouse.

Bridget & Emilio - Luther Brown hip hop - These really don't seem very random dance picks right now! She looks a little like she's just doing the steps and not quite really getting the whole swag bit of the routine, which is too bad because she was really sort of the focus of the dance.

Jessica & Nick - Benji Schwimmer west coast swing - Jessica dislocates her shoulder in practice! Wonder if they had to tone it down a bit because of that, because it seems a bit slow. I'm really not sure about this music choice. It's pretty incredibly boring to start. Yikes. That was really not very good. Misty says it was entertaining for those who aren't dancers, hahaha! Backhanded compliment? All the judges are a bit down even though Mary tries to coach it a bit.

Carly & Serge -  Sonya Tayeh contemporary - I have to say I wouldn't know that Serge was a ballroom dancer based on that, pretty impressive. Misty actually enjoyed this one, so it must be pretty good. Haha! I wasn't quite sure if it was going to be as emotional as Sonya wanted but about halfway through I got it.

Emily & Teddy - Dave Scott hip hop - See! Both the hip hop guys get hip hop routines! This is more of a lyrical hip hop, and I dig it. I'm not sure if she's actually hitting it harder than Bridget was in hers, but she at least seems a bit more down into it or something. Teddy may be a dark horse in the competition, because I feel like we don't know him very well but he's been pretty good so far.

Malene & Stanley - Spencer Liff Broadway - I'm not usually a big fan of the more Broadway routines because they're always a bit cheesy, but this was a bit more fun with the phones. I do kind of have to agree with Mary that the phones got a bit old as it went on. Malene does look pretty amazing in that outfit, though, she looks like she could be on Broadway. I do agree with Misty though that they didn't feel like much of a pair. Nigel is pretty negative about it, which makes me think Malene may be going home.

Jourdan & Marcquet - Sean Cheesman jazz - That routine was a lot of fun. They both made me forget what their original styles were, which is good. Nigel is a bit hard on Jourdan but raves about Marcquet, but I thought they were both pretty good. I didn't think much of Jourdan based on last week, but now I'd like to see more from her.

Brooklyn & Casey - Miriam & Leonardo Argentine tango - Oh boy, a tango? Eesh. These are the only two in the bottom that are paired together which does not bode well for them. Then again, the actual routine is super sexy and they are doing pretty well, particularly her who I really had no feeling for last week. I quite liked it.

Jacque & Zack - Sean Cheesman African jazz - Those outfits are a bit trippy. The camera moving all over the place is a bit distracting sometimes. Zack looked like he had a little trip up at one point near the edge of the stage, but otherwise it's pretty good. Mary even puts them on the hot tamale train. Zack seems pretty versatile, being a tapper.

But now it's time for the results. Going home tonight are:
Malene and Nick

Nick looks really annoyed, actually, but I guess I can't really say I'm surprised. I would've been more surprised if they'd picked either of the others.

Well, that's it for this week. Are we voting now for couples or for individuals? I'm so confused! I think Stanley may be in trouble this week, Jessica should be but may not based on her other performance, and other than that I'm not sure. Jourdan may get it again just because, and maybe Bridget? Guess we'll find out next week!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD Season 11 - Top 20 Perform

Weird, they are dancing in their own styles tonight for votes? That's new. In the past they did the first performance episode without any voting. I guess they have a shorter episode order this season, so they can't do that. AND it's FOUR people going home next week?! Sheesh. Also, all voting is online or on an app, no more phone votes. Interesting. I really hate when they make you sign in with Facebook for this sort of thing, though. Really alienates a lot of potential voters. At least Cat doesn't have to rattle off phone numbers at the end of every routine now.

Anyway, joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel this week is Jason Derulo, who apparently is a big deal but I have no idea who he is. Guess I'm not on the ups with pop music? Hmm. Something about a Wiggle song? No clue.

Brooklyn and Serge - Cha Cha - Dmitry Chaplin - I found myself much more drawn to Serge in this routine than Brooklyn, which is quite unusual for a ballroom routine where the girl is usually much more prominent. We haven't seen much of Brooklyn yet, and being in the first slot of the night could mean she's in trouble.

Emily and Casey - Contemporary - Travis Wall - Pretty routine, of course. Feel like this is the first time we've ever even seen Casey at all, though we have seen some of Emily. Again, it was pretty, but not sure it was super memorable? Oh gosh, there is going to be a lot of effusive praise tonight, isn't there?

Valerie and Zack - Tap - Anthony Morigerato - That routine was super fun, perhaps the funnest tap routine I think we've ever seen on the show. It was a super physical routine too that looked like it took a lot of work to perfect. Quite impressed, really. It went along with the music really well too. Could these be the two tappers who have a good chance on this show finally?

Bridget and Stanley - Contemporary - Bonnie Story - Nice to see them do some side by side stuff, and they were really in sync. Feel like we don't see that very often in contemporary routines lately, and I quite liked it. Jason comments that it looked effortless, and I have to agree with that.

Jacque and Jourdan - Ballet - Marat Daukayev - I really don't remember seeing either of these two before? Sheesh. Wow, they just did a ton of turns in a row. They looked like they got a little bit off at one point in the routine, whoops. It's a little bit hard to connect to since they aren't really dancing together, but around each other. The best is the lack of reaction from Daukayev when Nigel is complimenting him, just complete stone face. Nigel does give some criticism to them as well.

Malene and Marcquet - Samba - Louis Van Amstel - This routine feels a lot more high energy than our other ballroom routine of the night, and she stands out quite a lot more than Brooklyn did. Quite like both of these two, and we've seen quite a bit of them already as well, so I think they'll be okay.

Carly and Rudy - Contemporary - Stacey Tookey - Rudy is a huge personality, but what's nice is that he can get serious in his routines and have it be believable. Love the flowy dress she has on here. The crowd seems to super love it, they are screaming like mad. It was quite good, they seemed to put a lot of feeling into it. And the judges are right I think in that even if he has limitations, Rudy has a lot of genuine personality to make up for it.

Emilio and Teddy - Hip Hop - Christopher Scott - Interesting song choice, kind of unexpected. Not sure this is the right routine to really showcase these guys, but hopefully I'm wrong because I enjoy some hip hop. Apparently Teddy also does some tapping as well, so I hope he keeps going so we can see more from him.

Jessica and Ricky - Contemporary - Sonya Tayeh - Love the haunting music choice, with the really quiet music it made you really pay attention to their dancing. They were pretty damn amazing, I must say. I didn't even want to write notes during it to interrupt it for myself. I agree with Nigel that these two won't be put together next week, though perhaps he is right that they would walk away with the season if they were together.

Tanisha and Nick - Cha Cha - Louis Van Amstel - Her fringe dress is really fun. With him being so small you wouldn't necessarily expect him to be super strong enough to do all the lifts and such, but he actually does it really well. The judges barely get to speak to them because they're running out of time, but they do let the two of them talk a little to make up for it.

Well, that's all for this week! Any early favorites? I definitely think certain dancers are in danger (Brooklyn, Jacque, Jourdan, Teddy), but we'll find out for sure next week. Until next time... have a great Fourth of July!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD Season 11 Callbacks and Top 20 Reveal

Oh man, I've said it before and I'll say it again, callback week is the hardest week to recap! I've done my best, but pardon me if it's a bit all over the place! On the judging panel for callbacks are Nigel, Mary, Adam Shankman, Twitch, Tara Lipinski, and Irina Dvorovenko.

As always, callbacks start with everyone doing a solo again for all of the judges, since most of the judges have not actually seen any of them up to this point. They don't give feedback here, but they do get rid of some people right at this stage. Out of 157 people, 36 people get cut.

The first choreography challenge of the week is hip hop, with Chris Scott and Jasmine from season 10 teaching them the moves. They have just an hour to learn the routine in couples. They stop the class at 9pm, but don't actually perform until the next morning. A few people get some special coverage, including Marie Poppins, Jessica Richens, Steven Kador and his partner Malene, a ballroom dancer, Caleb Brauner and Trevor, who they really liked in auditions. After performing for the judges, Marie gets by by the skin of her teeth, Jessica has to dance for her life, the duo make it through although it's pretty rough, Trevor gets cut, and Caleb gets cut as well, even though I thought he did pretty well. After dancing super sexy for her life, Jessica makes it through.

The next round is jazz with Sonya Tayeh, the same day, and only an hour to learn the steps yet again. And they have to perform right away. Getting more special attention this round is Steven Kador, though he seems to really struggle with the routine, and ends up going home. Twelve more dancers get the boot, including b-boy Shafeek and Marie Poppins. Jaja has to dance for her life, and she gets through.

Up next is ballroom with Dmitry and Anya. Someone gets an elbow to the mouth and loses half a tooth! They get the night to practice their routine this time. Valeria Rockey and Zack Everheart, two tappers, and they do it well, making it straight on through. Jaja is joined by Emilio, who made it into the top 20 last year but couldn't go on the show after getting kicked in the nose, so he's back this year. They do pretty well, actually, and make it through.

And for the last round of choreography, we've got contemporary with Travis Wall. Bridget Whitman gets a special call out, but she has a bit of a misstep in her routine, and she must dance for her life. The others all seem to make it through, not a lot of time spent on this round. Bridget's dance for her life results in her barely making it through to the next round.

Of course, here is the best part of callback week - the group routine round. They're down to 29 boys and 21 girls, only 50 of them left. They're in groups of five and then pick a random song and must make a routine from it. This is always when tempers flare, since they are so tired and crazed at this point. It's funny because a good deal of the routines always end up being pretty bad. The first one we see that is actually decent features Zack, Malene and Johnny, so their prospects are looking pretty good.

That leaves 44 dancers left to be whittled down to the top 20 - which leaves them just one last chance to prove themselves to the judges, with their final solo and some words. We see Ricky Ubeda, who we've seen glimpses of throughout callbacks but not much straight focus. I still think he's going to make it on, and you know what? Can I make a bold prediction? I think he may be top four material.

And I guess we are going to the top 20 reveal now? I wasn't sure. Most of these names aren't going to mean a lot quite yet, but there is a winner among them! Do you have any early favorites (apart from Ricky, duh)?

In the top 20:
Ricky is the first one to be called in, and duh, he makes it on the show, obviously. 
Jessica
Jacque
Teddy
Stanley
Carly
Emilio makes it back on the show again, which is nice because he looks really good.
Bridget
Valerie
Zack
Jourdan
Casey
Emily
Nick
Tanisha
Serge
Malene
Marcquet
Brooklyn
Rudy

Some of the noteworthy people who did not make it on... Jaja, the Krump girl, Johnny Waacks, and Erik "Silky" Moore, whose audition I really liked.

And... I'm spent! Until next time!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD Season 11 Auditions - Atlanta

It's the last week of auditions for So You Think You Can Dance, this time in Atlanta. Somehow it seems like it's been taking forever and has passed by really quickly at the same time. This year, the callback round will not be the famous Vegas Week, which is definitely odd, as I haven't been able to type straight through to Vegas this whole time either. Change! Bah! Anyway, on to tonight's auditions in Atlanta...

Lil Buck joins Nigel and Mary for the first night of auditions.

Mariah Reives - Jazz. She loves putting humor in her dancing, but it feels very stagey, broadway-y, that is... pretty fake. Her actual dance moves are really good, though. She gets a standing ovation, though. Straight on through.

Erik "Silky" Moore - Hip hop. Auditioned twice before as a tapper. They're spending a lot of time with him, even pausing his audition, which is a little weird. He's actually really good, lots of personality in his movement and as Nigel said, musicality in his movement. The amount of time they're spending on him makes me think he might be going pretty far. He gets straight through.

Kelly MacCoy - Jazz. I guess it's just a thing for jazz dancers to be a little face-y? She's doing a lot of hair and face work and not a lot of actual dancing other than flipping her body around. She gets a ticket, though, which I'm not really sure about. Eh.

Christopher "Mr. Strange" Griffin - Founding member of Dragon House, where Cyrus and BluPrint came from in previous seasons. I'm not sure about his song choice, but he does have some good moves. Straight through.

Conrad Dechabert - Auditioned before, they apparently said he was too feminine before, and now he is covered in tattoos. Determined to be more masculine this time. It was pretty strong dancing overall. He gets a ticket.

Taveaus "Dynamic" Woods - Hip hop. Fik-shun is his best friend. He's quite a bit more reserved than Fik-shun though. When he dances, though, he comes alive. He's so fluid in his moves, definitely a unique style apart from Fik-shun. He heads on to choreography. He doesn't get through... it was pretty bad.

Brandon "Sideshow" Feinster - Funk style, popping and locking. Although as Nigel points out that he wasn't doing much pop-locking. It was a bit more fluid. He does a lot of talking back, which is never very good for prospects. He doesn't get through, mostly because of that I believe, and he keeps ranting after.

For day two in Atlanta, Jenna Dewan-Tatum joins the judging panel.

Ricky Ubeda - Contemporary. He has some crazy extensions. He's just really awesome in general, really. I can see him going really far in the competition. Nigel even comments that he can see him going all the way, and he gets a Mary woo hoo. Straight through.

Marissa Milele - She made it to the green mile last season. She's super strong. I feel like she could beat some people up. A lot of tumbling moves. She gets a ticket.

Elaine Kimble - Sad story about her mom having a stroke, and she has the same hole in her heart that caused her mom's stroke. Thankfully she is a good dancer too. Judges think she played it a bit safe. Through to choreography. She makes it through.

Brandon "Crazy Legz" Jacobs - ATL Cranking. Cranking is kind of like... fast stepping? His freestyle before the music seemed better than his actual routine, but it was still pretty good. Can he do other things? Send him to choreography, but he doesn't make it through.

Angelina Granitz - She comes off as a bit strange and kooky. Her dancing is much darker and more emotional. Nigel comments it's almost like two people, and I agree. She becomes a different person when she's dancing. She goes straight through.

Cristina Moya-Palacios - Contemporary. She's pretty dang good, has good extensions. Strength to her movement even though she is so tiny. They give her a ticket without even talking to her at all.

Jerrod Swain - Animation popping and ATL cranking. He has a lot of humor in his movement that actually comes across pretty genuine. Not sure how much real dancing he is doing, but it is a lot of fun. He gets through to choreography, but he doesn't make it through.

Well, that's it for the auditions! Next week is callbacks, which is often one of my favorite weeks of the show, but also one of the hardest to recap. Do you have anyone you are rooting for yet? I think that Ricky kid from tonight is probably going to make the show. That one Krump girl, if she can do other stuff even halfway decently probably has a good shot as well, as we hardly ever see hip hop style girls make it very far.

Until next week!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD Season 11 Auditions - Los Angeles and Philadelphia

It's interesting that this season they are splitting up the audition cities every week so far. I think I kind of like it? That way the judges get mixed up every week. Perhaps it's for time rather than any other artistic reason, but I'll pretend. How are you all feeling about this season so far? I was just reflecting on how they don't really show bad auditions anymore. Do you guys remember the days of the wacky auditioners they would feature? Thank goodness those days are gone. We just want to see good dancing, and that's why we shall again ignore a certain Bieb.

First up tonight... the second half of the LA auditions with Christina Applegate as the guest judge. And here we go...

Serge Onik and Alla Kocherga - Ballroom couple - Latin ballroom? Serge made it to the green mile last year but not onto the show. I have to say he is one of the better ballroom guys I think I've seen audition so far. Got a little bit distracted by her dress going up a wee bit too high at the end of the audition. They're straight on through of course.

Timothy Joseph - B-boy. He's doing a lot of flips and such, though I'm not sure there's a lot of dancing going on. More gymnastics and general craziness. They all comment on how they're not sure of his actual artistic nature because of his lack of facetime. They say he can go through to choreography but he's picked up an injury so... will he go on? Dun dun dun. He bows out.

Casey Askew - Contemporary. His style reminds me a bit of Travis Wall. A lot of emotion combined with a lot of quality dancing, and he is straight on through.

Jourdan Epstein - Ballet. They spent quite a bit of time on her backstory about her brother battled addiction, which was what her dance was about. I don't know that I would necessarily get that just by watching the dance, though you can tell it is about something. She goes straight through.

"Johnny Waacks" Gibson - Waacking. He previously auditioned back in season nine, and they're still laughing over the name. I'm still not sure I entirely understand this form of dancing, but it was an entertaining audition. Enough to get on the show? He goes to choreography. He makes it through to the next round.

Malene Ostergaard and Armen Way - Latin ballroom. He previously auditioned last season and was the one who accidentally dropped the girl on her head. Whoops. They have a lot of chemistry together and did quite well. They go straight through.

And that's it for Los Angeles... now it's on to Philadelphia. Joining Nigel and Mary this time around is Misty Copeland, prima ballerina.

Bridget Whitman - Contemporary. I like her song choice. Quiet, and showcases her dancing skills, which are quite good and emotional. She goes straight through. I could see her doing quite well on the show. We'll see!

Amir Sanders - Ballet. Funky ballet? Not sure of the song choice, since it seems maybe too in your face about a point. They are mostly complimentary but do have a few criticisms, and send her to choreography. She makes it through, and I would've been really surprised if she hadn't.

Landon Anderson - Ballroom, he brings Jenna from last season to audition with him. That split move thing was pretty crazy. He seems like a pretty strong dancer, pretty masculine for the ballroom style, which is good. He goes straight through. They also invite Jenna back as an all-star, which I suppose isn't a huge surprise since they don't have many ballroom all-stars.

Shafeek Westbrook - Tried out previously in season nine and had an attitude problem in Vegas. Hip hop. He's super strong and has some crazy moves, though could use some work on transitions. Send him on to choreography. He makes it through.

And... for day two of Philadelphia, they have Billy Porter joining them on the judging panel.

Stanley Glover - He has a really sad backstory of his mom dying when he was really young and none of his biological family coming to claim him at the guardianship hearing, which is awful! Sheesh. He does contemporary. He has a very strong, animalistic style that goes along really well with his music choice. I'm kind of rooting for this one! He goes straight through, duh.

James "Banks" Davis - Krump. He got shot twice in his knee and almost lost his leg. This is a much quieter style of krump than I think I've ever seen on the show, and it's quite cool. Not so angry as I'm used to, and I really like it. Billy comments on him being a storyteller and I agree, it was full of story in there. Through to choreography. Sadly, he doesn't make it further.

I guess they must not have had many great dancers in that second day of Philadelphia because it was cut rather short! Next week is the last week of auditions before heading into callbacks. Do you have any standouts so far that you think might make the show? Personally I think that Stanley kid from tonight's episode has a real shot at it. Perhaps Bridget as well. Sometimes it's hard to tell, though, but I believe I did have some good predictions the last few years, so who knows!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD Season 11 Auditions - Chicago & Los Angeles

It's week two of this summer's So You Think You Can Dance! Do you have any standout favorites quite yet? It's always hard to tell until we get to the week of callbacks, but sometimes there are some that truly make an impression at this stage. I do believe I pointed out Melanie and Eliana back in these early days. I'm not sure if I have anyone quite like that yet, but I did enjoy the tapping girl Valerie tonight. She's just dang cute! And the little pop and locker Jaja was fun as well. We'll see if they make it very far!

Anyway, let's get on with it...

First up... Day 2 in Chicago

Nigel and Mary are joined by Fabrice Calmels, ballet dancer and choreographer who we've never met before on the show.

Paul "The Puppet" Brushaber - He has some crazy good moves. Kind of a mix of animation and fluidity to make himself look like a puppet. Mary wants him to go straight through to the next round, but the other two aren't quite sure. They give him a ticket.

Emily James - Auditioned twice before. Contemporary. She's decent, I'm not sure she's super amazing. Dance seemed pretty planned out, though maybe too planned out. Fabrice calls it solid, and I agree, it is solid, but not sure it had that wow factor. She gets straight through.

Franchesca Bass - Girl with alopecia. Contemporary with a quirky factor.  She has a very strong style to her dancing, could use a little work on her transitions (or I don't know what I'm talking about). Very athletic feeling. She goes through.

Jenna Scaccia - Ballet dancer. She seems a bit smiley for the intense score that she chose. But generally she is pretty flowy and clean. The judges are all pretty effusive, she gets a ticket.

James Thomas - Popper, specializing in contortion and bopping, whatever that is. Eeek those contortion moves are freaky. When he mentions he's had other training, they send him through to choreography, but it's a bit too much for him to handle and he bows out.

And then.... Day 1 in Los Angeles...

Joining Nigel and Mary this time is frequent SYTYCD judge and actress Christina Applegate.

Jessica Richens - She likes being sexy on stage? Oh gosh, Nigel will love it. She's actually pretty good, tough, despite the flailing about on the ground and hair dancing. The judges all love it and give her a ticket without even talking at all really.

Valerie Rockey - Tapper. She's got a very sunshine quality about her, and some fast feet when she gets into it. The crowd claps for her for quite a long time. Nigel is always a huge fan of tap, though he does have a couple of criticisms. They send her to choreography. She makes it through to the next round.

Jana "Jaja" Vankova - Animation and krump. Wow, you don't see girls do this very often, so it makes me immediately like her. And she has the chops to match, gets the judges on their feet, and they immediately give her a ticket.

Kyle Taylor - Popping. May be his first time dancing in front of people. He doesn't hit quite hard enough, but does have a fluidity to his legs. He has a lot of spirit despite being a little goofy. They bring up Cyrus, Fik-Shun and Legacy for a kind of battle thing. He's not as good as them, but definitely holds his own. He goes to choreography. He can't quite do it, so he bows out.

Justine Lutz - Contemporary. She's really quite beautiful. Has an almost tribal vibe to some of her moves that I really like. They give her a ticket straightaway as well.

Mauricio Vera and Deise Mendoca - Ballet dancers. The thing about male ballet dancers is that they almost seem like background for the women to shine in front of. I suppose if she looks that good then he must be pretty good too. They make it through, of course.

Hailee Payne - Jazz funk, which basically means that she's got full on quirk in the style of Sonya. She definitely has some charisma to her that makes her beg to be seen, but could get old if she's a little too over the top. She gets a ticket.

Sebastian Serra - Returning contestant, almost made it to the end last year. He's got a strong kind of ballet contemporary combo thing. Of course he goes on to the next round, you kidding? Sheesh.

Dani Platz - Wow they give her a lot of backstory stuff about her eating disorder and treatment. Obviously she must actually be pretty good or they wouldn't be spending this amount of time. And, yes, she's pretty good, very emotional. They send her to choreography. She makes it through to the next round.

Marie Bonnevay aka "Mary Poppins" - Popping. She has this weird kind of lounge music for her dance, which is so unexpected for popping. Fik-Shun comes up and starts dancing with her when she heads up to the judges table, and it's actually quite heartwarming and cute. She goes through to the next round.

Well, that's it for this week! I have to say, it was nice to see some of the old favorites Fik-Shun, Cyrus and Legacy get up on stage and do their thing as well. Looks like we may be seeing a lot of Fik-Shun as an all-star in the upcoming season too, just judging based on the opening credits and this. He is definitely featured more than Amy even though they were co-winners. ANYway! You'll notice I did not really talk about the certain Canadian's reappearance this week, and that's how it shall remain. Until next week, I bid thee adieu!

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SYTYCD Season 11 Auditions - New Orleans and Chicago

Well, So You Think You Can Dance is back, which must mean that summer is starting! I truly cannot believe this show is now in its 11th season on the air, and that I've been watching since that very first season. Egads! Time flies! This year, they've trotted out a new opening credit sequence and have also gone back to the original one winner style. They also are doing some new thing where they have viewers vote via twitter for certain dance crews to come perform on the show, which was for some reason synced up with Justin Bieber? Yes, the Biebs was there in a pre-taped segment introducing the crews and offered nary a vocal inflection.

Anyway! Let's get on to the tryouts. This week featured New Orleans and some of Chicago's auditions. I've just gone through chronologically focusing on those that the show focused on. Not too many dancers featured just to be featured so far, which is nice. We'll see if that holds as these auditions keep trucking!

First up...

New Orleans! With judges Nigel, Mary, and Wayne Brady.

Shelby Rase - Drama face! Contemporary. Not sure how much actual dancing? Certainly graceful. Judges are rather effusive. First bring down of a family member, oy vey. Something called a bottle dance from the dad? She gets a ticket to the next round, which I guess is now in LA instead of Vegas? Now I can't say they make it straight through to Vegas!!

Tanisha Belnap - Ballroom. Nigel goes full smarm before she even dances. Overly sexy dance, perhaps. Not seeing a ton of fast footwork. Cool flip move, though. She's through to the next round.

Shelby and Shane Skipper - New Orleans bounce brothers. Certainly entertaining, but can they do other styles? A lot of leg work, sort of pop and locking but not quite. A lot of positive talk, but only Shelby aka Skip gets to go to choreography. But, he doesn't make it through, deciding he's not quite cut out for it.

Megan Marcano - Homeless for much of her life. Contemporary or would it be jazz? I can't always tell. She's got a cute sort of quirky style to her, so maybe that makes it jazz. Ticket to the next round.

Trevor Bryce - I'm not sure what to call this kid's style. It's like quirky ballet hip hop or something. He's actually pretty good, sort of mesmerizing, though I'm not sure I want to actually tell him that, as I can detect a certain vanity there. BUT, the performance was really well-done and thought out to go with the music. 

Courtney Barnes - Mr. Fabulous. Not sure what to say, he certainly had some some crazy extensions in there. Wayne says what I'm wondering - can he do the choreography? He's more personality than substance, but they'll let him do the choreo. But he doesn't do that great at it, so he's not through.

Novien Yarber - He's got some good moves, but does seem a little hesitant on some of them. Overall a strong contemporary style, and they send him straight through without any discussion.

Caleb Brauner - Dad danced with him during his audition last year, has since passed away. Automatically makes me want to root for this kid, sheesh! I enjoy his kinda off-kilter style, very much a showman nature to his work, and room for growth, which is always good on this show. Judges say he's not quite at the level of other dancers, but let him go to choreography. Alas, he doesn't make it through. Sad!

Jacoby Jimmerson - Zumba instructor with a few extra curves. He has rhythm but definitely not at the level of dancers on the competition. No ticket for him.

Brooklyn Fullmer and Marcquet Hill - Ballroom duo. Honestly they were just okay for me, nothing too amazing. He seemed a bit better than her. Judges are pretty positive, though. They go through to the next round.

And now it's time for the next city...

Chicago! With Nigel, Mary and Jenna Elfman as judges.

Nick Garcia - Latin Ballroom. He definitely seems to know what he's doing, though it is hard to judge him without a partner to dance with. He gets a Mary scream. Through to next round.

Rudy Abreu - BFF with above Nick. His style is different though, more masculine jumps and such, not so much the ballroom. Feel like he's telling a story. These two guys could be that whole thing at the end of the next round where they only have one spot left and have to choose between the two deal. 

Caleb Brauner is back! He seems poised for the story edit on the show now. He does something more serious this time around, and it was a whole other level, in a good way. They send him to choreography again. And this time he makes it through, of course!

In case you were wondering just what the two crews featured on tonight's show were...

Poreotics - Popping and robotics crew from LA.
Syncopated Ladies - All female tap dancers

The ladies were really leading in the twitter votes. I'm a bit confused as to what happens now - do more crews get voted on in subsequent audition shows or is it just between these two groups? Hmm.

Anyway, that's all for tonight! Do you have any favorites so far? Are you looking forward to more Caleb or already dreading the time being spent on him as a sign of things to come? Sound off in the comments!

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