So You Think You Can Dance kicked off its tenth season this week with an incredible group of auditions, and the familiar sound of judge Mary Murphy’s screaming.
The first stops on the audition tour were Hollywood and Detroit, where regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy were joined by Modern Family‘s Jesse Tyler Ferguson (in Hollywood), and season 4 fan favorite and subsequent all-star, Twitch (in Detroit.)
The show kicked off with a montage of incredible auditions throughout the years, intercut with contestants from the previous seasons reflecting on their first SYTYCD auditions, and how much the opportunity has meant to them, and how much the show has changed their life. It was great to see some familiar faces, and very inspiring. A great way to start off season ten: a look back, a look forward.
Early Standouts
Hollywood
Du-Shaunt “Fik-shun” Stegall
Fik-shun, an 18-year-old street performer from Vegas, was the first contestant of season ten. Nigel hoped that he wouldn’t be stuck outside while they were auditioning contestants in the next round in Vegas. The judges were blown away by the way he was able to move, and gave him a ticket back home to Vegas.
Malece Miller
We also met 19-year-old Malece, whose super-supportive mom was battling Mary Murphy in scream power when her daughter took the stage. After some awkward joking/lying with Nigel about whether or not she was actually partially deaf, or just didn’t hear him, she took the stage for a beautiful contemporary performance.
Paul Karmiryan
21-year old Paul is not new to the SYTYCD process, since he’s actually won So You Think You Can Dance: Armenia! The latin ballroom dancer from Glendale, CA wowed the judges on this side of the world as well. Guest judge Jesse Tyler Ferguson hoped that season 8 winner Melanie Moore was over in Armenia right now, auditioning for their show.
Taylor Ward
Finally, we met 20-year-old Taylor, a former tomboy and softball player who left her collegiate softball scholarships behind to pursue dance. She was excited to audition for the show, however, while she was warming up backstage before the show, she dislocated her knee in a horrifying way that they kept replaying over and over again. But she popped it back in, wrapped it up, and took the stage for a toned-down version of her audition routine anyway. The audition was hard to watch, as you kept waiting for her knee to go out again, but her dancing was beautiful. She made it through to Vegas after the choreography round.
Detroit
Jade Zuberi
21-year-old Jade had a mission to take the audience on a ride, and bring them into an illusion through his dancing. The animator’s stop-motion routine was so fascinating, judge Nigel kept saying he didn’t want it to end. Jade somehow managed to move his body like a robot and like water, all at the same time. Twitch, a hip-hop star in his own right, said it was one of the best auditions he had ever seen in SYTYCD history.
Amy Yackima
Contemporary dancer Amy had to follow her dad, who has taken a “Dad’s Jazz” dance class, prompting Nigel to call him up onstage to demonstrate his skill. Fortunately, Amy proved to be a better dancer than her dad, by a long shot. She danced to Lara Fabian’s “Je suis malade,” which translates to “I am sick,” but you didn’t need to parlez francais in order to understand the song’s message, since Amy told the story with her body.
Tyrone Cobham Jr.
Tappers are few and far between on So You Think You Can Dance, though Nigel fights for them every year. However, Tyrone managed to set himself apart, even from other tappers. His unique style incorporates more hand gentures and facial expressions to accompany what he’s doing with his feet. The result, in his audition, was a relaxed, entertaining routine that earned him a standing ovation, and Mary called the best audition she’d seen in all ten seasons.
DeFonte “Prince Charming” Thomas
Prince Charming auditioned with his crew of fellow male exotic dancers. He and his buddy Darryl “Smilez” Harrell proved to actually be better at non-sexual dancing than one might expect from exotic dancers, though Prince Charming admitted to not liking to dancing with his shirt on. The judges sent both Prince Charming and Smilez on to choreography, but only Prince Charming made the cut, and will be going on to Vegas.
Tune in next Tuesday at 8/7c on Fox, when So You Think You Can Dance checks out the talent in Austin, TX, with guest judge actress Minnie Driver.