So the new season is underway, with the first round of auditions being held in New York. I'm pleased to see that our lovely host, Cat Deeley (love her interaction with the contestants!), is back to guide us through the season, as well as head judge Nigel Lythgoe and regular judge Mary "WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" Murphy. Joining them in New York are husband and wife choreography team Tabitha and Napoleon.
Gabi Rojas suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, but that hasn't stopped her from developing exquisite control over her body and her ability to move. Her lines are expressive and immaculate. She moves in a different way from what you expect, but it is beautiful, and her choreography for her audition was creative, to say the least. I enjoyed her. No surprise that she got straight through.
These Mutation guys are interesting. LOL. Joint-tortionism, huh? The things these guys get their bodies to do are sick. LOL. I want to see more. But I don't. I am very torn. Watching them makes me cringe and turn away, but then peek through again.
Peter Sabasino is a tap dancer who obviously knows what he is doing in the tap realm, but I wonder how he would move in other styles. With tapping, he is engaging and entertaining. He made me smile. He says he dances in a number of other styles, so we'll see. He got straight through to Vegas, no choreography this time. I guess we'll have to wait.
I love that Nigel doesn't pull his punches. The way he ACTUALLY gave a REAL critique on the dancing of the girl with the spinal problems. He told her ways she can improve her dancing and didn't belittle her in any way for attempting something she likely would not have any chance. He really is so very different from the usual sarcastic British judge on these shows, and I love that.
Maksim Kapitanikanov is a fantastic ballroom dancer. He has excellent rhythm and beautiful lines. It is really difficult not to watch Faina, because she is fabulous, but he somehow still managed to draw my eye. I'd love to see some good male ballroom dancers through this year.
Naboya Nakahama amused me to no end. Not sure how he'll do in a serious style, but he is hilarious. I could watch him all day if he kept doing what he was doing here. He isn't the best popper/locker I've ever seen, but he brought so much fun to it that I loved everything about it. I'd love to see more from him. And we'll get to in choreography!
Lauren from season 3 is teaching the choreography this year. Sad to see the the Mutants leave before even trying, but I'm sure they knew what they were doing. But Maksim got through, and Naboya got through, so I'm happy about both of those.
The second day brought Arielle Taylor, who made it through to Vegas in a previous season. She is a contemporary dancer who is very aware of how her body looks with each movement she makes. She has thought it all through very well. I loved her.
Igor and Nina came in with some Cha Cha and set the stage on fire. He has excellent partnering skills, and she is impossible not to watch. The low spins (pot stirs?) were insane. I'm dizzy after watching that.
Kellen Stancil made excellent use of an umbrella prop to show off his lines and spins. I'm really impressed with him, because to work with a prop so seamlessly takes a ton of talent. He is truly a beautiful, moving dancer. And the story behind using it really touched me. I'm rooting for him.
Chimezie Nwosu was a sight to see. The way he moved to his chosen music, a percussive piece full of traffic sounds, was perfection. He even made use of some of the lighting features on the stage. I loved watching him very much. He made me think so much of Twitch from last season, and that is a very good thing. He got through to choreography.
Igor is through but not Nina, and Chimezie is through as well. Yay on both counts!
Then the auditions moved to Denver, where Sonya Tayeh joined the judges.
Kayla Rodomski is very young, but obviously well trained. I enjoyed watching her move, but I'm not sure she would hold my attention for a long stretch of time. The judges were all about her though, and she is definitely going to be through.
Oh no...no they didn't...Mitch and Micha dancing ballroom together. How do they decide who leads? LOL. And surprisingly, one of them is straight. Neither of them dances in a masculine enough way to make me happy though, even if it is a samba which is more flamboyant. I'm just not feeling this. Ouch! The fall during the lift sealed the deal for me. Though they have made it through to choreography, but no further.
On the second day in Denver we saw the Jedi Cat/Lion. Oy.
Elias Holloway and his kid brother aren't bad! Cute kids. And they know what they're doing with the pop locking. I hope he gets through, though I'm sure he'll have to go through choreography. Adorable. Hopefully he can do more than just this one style. Wonder if we'll see the younger brother in a couple of years.
Brandon Bryant and Natalie Reid are both back! Woo hoo. I was a big fan of both of them. last year and hoped they would make it on.
Natalie is up first, and she shows us exactly why she almost got through before. The way she goes all out and stops her mid motion always has captivated me. I truly hope she gets into the Top 20 this year.
Brandon is dancing to the same music as last year, I think, and I am just as entranced as before. I think he is even better than he was before. The strength in his legs is phenomenal. I want to see him on the show so bad it is killing me. I was devastated last year when Gev got on instead of him, even though I was nuts about Gev. He is awe inspiring. Please, let him on this year.
Elias didn't make it through after choreography, but hopefully he'll follow their advice and will get some training in other areas. I liked him.
So, more again next week when the auditions head to Miami and Memphis.
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