Caitlin Cucchiara Audition

While watching my Tivo'd Atlanta audition show, I was even more impressed with Caitlin Cucchiara. Don't be surprised if she makes it to the top 20 and beyond. She really is amazing.

Hello to our friends at Blogging Project Runway, who are big Caitlin fans.

Myles Johnson Audition

Here's the Myles Johnson video from the So You Think You Can Dance Atlanta auditions.

Spoiler Alert

There's a credible top 20 spoiler in the comments of this posting at Rickey.org. Don't click if you want to wait until Thursday night to learn whether 2 hopefuls we've discussed here will make it to the top 20.

More From Phillip Chbeeb

This video includes Phillip "PacMan" Chbeeb's So You Think You Can Dance auditon, but also some clips you probably haven't seen. Enjoy!

From The Mailbox

Attention Chicagoland:
Come take class from two local dance stars that have appeared on Fox’s SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE:

Nick Gonzalez
Top 50 Dancer from Seasons 1 and 2
hip-hop and tap extraordinaire

and

Aleksandra Wojda
Top 20 Dancer from Season 2
contemporary jazz and lyrical specialist

What: A Dance Experience like No Other!!!!!!!

Intermediate Hip-Hop with Nick: 5-6PM
Intermediate Jazz with Aleksandra: 6-7PM
Advanced Lyrical with Aleksandra: 7-8PM
Advanced Hip-Hop with Nick: 8-9PM

When: Saturday June 16th from 5-9pm

Where: Moves Dance Studio
14 East State Street
North Aurora, IL

Prices: $15 per Class or 2 Classes for $25

Arrive early for late Registration, but space is limited so send us your reservations at:
Dancechica83@yahoo.com or nismo_nick@yahoo.com

There will be a Total of 4 classes that you may take, and all classes will learn different dances, so feel free to go ahead and take all four as you will be challenged in every single one to learn something new and exciting about yourself, dance, and the world that you live, breathe, and dance in.


Note: I found a video of Nick teaching a master class.

More From Bryan Gaynor

Bryan calls it Chibotics. You can see some more of his videos and show him some love through his Youtube profile page.

Missed Recaps

I think we missed these recaps of the Atlanta audition show from BuddyTV and from RealityTVCalendar (pop-up alert).

Choreographer's Corner

A Shane Sparks promo for digitaldancers.com.


Wade Robson teaches a class.


Dan Karaty, with Teresa Espinosa, teaching in Norway.


Mia Michaels, Shane Sparks, Wade Robson, and Brian Friedman teaching. It's a low quality video, but it's interesting to see them all together.

Wrapping up the week

Jenny T. Partridge talks about meeting season 2 finalist Allison Holker and recaps this week's shows.

I met Allison Holker from Season Two last week. We hired her to do a master class at our studio, and can I just say she is just as cute, and JUST as talented and sweet as she seemed on the show. She got robbed. The girl should have won.

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Fox SYTYCD Season 3 Promo

This promo for season 3 is a week or two old, but worth watching if you haven't seen it. 3min 48 sec.

More Recaps

Here's another excellent recap from Adam B. Vary at EW.com:

Shane also managed to safely navigate what is fast becoming my biggest beef with this show and that giant step back I was referring to earlier (watch out, here comes another barely excusable pun): Its beyond-silly dance around the word ''gay.'' This first occurred when Shane began bonding with b-boy/break-dancer Anthony ''Tony'' ''Unnecessarily Quotation-Marked Nickname'' Velez, causing Nigel to ask if the two were ''hooking up.'' Har-har. But Shane not only brushed off Nigel and Mary without so much as a flinch; he got the last laugh with hilarious, dead-on impersonations of the two. Yeah, Shane can stick around.

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TWOP posts a feisty recap.

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He, Robot

Bryan Gaynor's audition on last night's So You Think You Can Dance.

Behind The Scenes In Chicago

Someone named Marianya who auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance in Chicago takes us behind the scenes of the process:

Contrary to what they showed on TV, nobody got a free pass to Vegas after their solos. The judges determined who they wanted to see more of, and all of those people were sent to the choreography round. After they chose who would go to Vegas, they cut the footage of the best dancers to make it seem like they went straight through.

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Around The Web

There's a piece in the LA Times which calls So You Think You Can Dance the thinking man's reality TV dancing show. It makes some great points.
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Roger Caitlin at the Courant blogs that he rather liked the Gold Inferno Wednesday night.
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(RealityTVMania link deleted due to pop-up ad)

The Gold Inferno caused a major spike in google searches for "jump style dancing".
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Cat Deeley showed up at the opening of the Diesel store on Melrose in LA.
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Rickey.org has more on clogger Brandon Norris.
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Curlio.com watched Thursday night and gives us a recap.
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More Danny Tidwell Support

Rickey.org has joined the Danny Tidwell bandwagon.

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Clogger Purists Look Askance

He's a cloggin' outlaw.

Brandon Dancing
Uploaded by mickeymcc

Mickey M set some kinda record with his recap, complete with pics and video.

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Highlights From Atlanta

The Fox Theater was the setting for So You Think You Can Dance Atlanta auditions. Caitlin Cucchiara started things off with lively interpretive dance, and got the Vegas ticket from judges Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Shane Sparks.

Chris Crabb was up next. He confessed to being a huge Justin Timberlake fan, traced his tears, and clutched the pearls. His dancing reminded me of a Pilates video, not that I've ever seen one.

Tony Velez is not a break dancer, he's a b-boyer, and a good one. He'll be Shane Sparks best friend, as he later passed choreography and will be in Las Vegas.

Brandon Norris is the Clay Aiken of the clogging world. If the south had won the civil war, he might just be the Fred Astaire of his generation. Brandon somehow made clogging look somewhere near cool, a major accomplishment. He too passed choreography and will be in Vegas. That should be interesting.

Bryan Gaynor has scoliosis, but had Mary cackling with a great robot routine. It was so good, I had to tell my face about it. He didn't have the chops to make it through the choreography round, but may well be in a Shane Sparks-choreographed movie.

Myles Johnson played quarterback for his high school football team until he broke his leg. Ballet therapy brought out his artistic side, and now all he wants to do is dance. Dad is not a happy camper. Too bad. Myles is sent to the choreography round for the experience, and shows a natural inclination. We'll see him next week.

For some reason, Ashley Simpson gets the best tables in restaurants. She should check out Bouchon while she's in Vegas.

Kippery Rigsby seemed like a sweet soul, but the only thing she is lighter is $1400. Matthew Krabbe was entertaining, but not right for So You Think You Can Dance. Jessica Diaz has her cat ears and fishnet stockings to keep her warm. Chris Garmon is a hip-hop cowboy marine. No Vegas, but a I see a jeans endorsement deal in his future.

Next week, the Las Vegas round. Jamal Weaver fans will be happy to know he at least survives day one.

Around The Web

Reality TV Calendar always does a good job with recaps. Last night's show is no exception.

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The same can be said for Adam B. Vary at EW.com:

Beyond the fact that Hok can do terrifying things with his stomach muscles — and was denied his rightful spot in the season 2 top 20 because of a visa snafu (PS: I liked Nigel's hair better last season) — he is as inventive, adventurous, appealing, and entertaining a dancer as I've ever seen on SYTYCD. It's still up in the air whether Hok can go the distance — those pesky paso dobles are looming on the horizon — but if I were a betting man, I'd peg Hok to make it to the final four.

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We get a dance student's perspective at shimmyblog.

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More Poppin' From Phillip Chbeeb

This video is at least a year old. Phillip Chbeeb, who last night wowed judge Shane Sparks with his poppin' style, is the second one up in this amateur video.

The Gold Inferno

I gotta say, that IS a cool name...for a professional wrestler. The self-proclaimed American jumpstyle champion (I proclaim myself the American sofastyle champion) made it to the choreography round of last night's audition show. Check out his MySpace page, and Gigs found some video about jumpstyle here. Sabrina Rojas Weiss at TVGuide.com discusses Inferney and all the rest from LA and Chicago. Link

Around The Web

Television Without Pity does their usual good job recapping So You Think You Can Dance's LA/Chicago audition show.

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Travis Wall and Ivan Koumaev showed up at former SYTYCD choreographer Brian Friedman's 30th birthday party, along with season 3 hopeful Danny Tidwell. Movmnt Magazine has the story and pics.

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Recaps

Curlio.com recaps last night's show here.

Ricky.org seems to have most of the show posted as video clips, starting with Hawk's audition here.

TVGrapevine.com has a detailed recap here and here.

TVSquad has all the details here.

David Valdes at criticsrant.com gets off the couch and says something about last night's show.

More to come.

First Recap

Reality TV Magazine is first with a detailed recap of tonight's show.

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Highlights for LA/Chicago Audition Show

Tonight's So You Think You Can Dance audition show was highlighted by the triumphant return of street dancer Hokuto “Hawk” Konishi. Hawk created an instant youtube classic with an audition of several styles, including old skool, and an homage to last season's winner, Benji Schwimmer.

Benji and his sister Lacey were another highlight, with Lacey proving that talent runs in the family. Houston popper Phillip Chbeeb made tv screens across America go all wiggly, and had judge Shane Sparks in awe. Yesamin Gomez had Shane standing and later passed choreography to go to Las Vegas. Jon "Quincy" Vereen is a guy with a prosthetic left leg, a great attitude, and the best big sister in the world. Unfortunately, his "good" ankle couldn't stand up to the strain, and he had to bow out, despite being invited to the choreography round.

Join us tomorrow for full recaps.

Faina Savich Audition

As we get ready for tonight's show, here's Faina Savich from last week.

Around The Web

Give Me My Remote and Dan At DuckyXDale continue their lustful obsessions for Ivan and Travis. Both have videos included.

Watch for Benji and Hawk Tonight

Unfortunately, I don't have time to put together a proper preview of tonight's audition show from LA and Chicago, but watch for season 2 winner Benji Schwimmer to make an appearance. I wonder if he'll be the third judge. That would be interesting.


Also, remember Hokuto “Hawk” Konishi, the incredible street dancer who was sidelined by visa issues during season 2 auditions? Nigel invited him back, and he has been spotted in previews for tonight's show. That makes sense, as according to his MySpace page, he has moved to LA.

From The Mailbox

So You think You Can Dance season 2 finalist Jaymz Tuaileva checks in to say hello to show fans. He recently filmed a feature role in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2, which will be out in August, and has some other film projects lined up. Except for a sprained ankle, he would have been in Toronto right now with his fellow finalists for the CTV project we posted earlier.

We're glad to hear things are going so well for Jaymz.

Sometimes, fellow blogger Sarah McChesney gets it right, and sometimes she doesn't. See what you think, here.

Around The Web

We found 2 more recaps from last Thursday's show. Thefreshpage.com and sytycd.com both weigh in with their takes.

The Orlando Sentinel gives us a photo gallery from the auditions.

Benji Schwimmer solo

This is the Benji solo with the butt point at the end. Too much fun.

Jason Williams Teaching

I found these videos of SYTYCD season 2 finalist Jason Williams teaching a class in North Carolina. The choreography (Jason's) is really nice and deserves to be seen. That's him in the red hoodie.

Donyelle Jones Project

So You Think You Can Dance season 2 favorite Donyelle Jones is behind The Official Bad Dance Website. Donyelle Jones? Bad dance? How can THAT be? Well, it's about having fun, like this guy, Tahir:

I gotta get one of those t-shirts, even though I'm melanin-deficient.

Here's a video blog from Donyelle, recorded back in April. She tells us her plans for the summer, and even sings a bit, all recorded at the ungodly hour of 5am.

Videos by TahirJahi

From The Mailbox

ATTENTION CANADIAN FANS:
Currently, season 2 finalists Benji Schwimmer, Allison Holker, Dmitry Chaplin, Martha Nichols, Jason Williams, and Ashlee Nino are in Toronto to appear on a program for CTV. If anyone knows the taping or air date, please let us know.

Dmitry Chaplin In Malaysia

So You think You Can Dance season 2 finalist Dmitry Chaplin makes a guest appearance on the Malaysian version of the show. There are some sound sync issues on the video, and Dmitry slips at one point, but fans will be happy with the shirt ripping at the end of his performance.

Around The Web

Over on the IdolNoise forums, we get a bit more info on ballroom dancers Pasha & Anya, as well as Heather Zampier.

Jamal Weaver and E-Knock

Here it is. Jamal Weaver and his buddy Ernest "E-Knock" Phillips, from SYTYCD season 3 New York auditions.

Another Early Favorite For Season 3

We haven't seen him audition yet, but there is buzz surrounding Danny Tidwell, another product of Denise Wall's Energy Studio, that gave us Travis Wall.





He has an official site here.

Natalie Fotopoulos Update

So You Think You Can Dance season 2 finalist Natalie Fotopoulos appeared on the Greek version of the our favorite dance show.



Here she is at personal appearance for Entyce Productions.

Another Cat Deeley Interview

StarryMag has posted an interview with So You Think You Can Dance Host Cat Deeley.

"The person for me who really did that last year was Ivan. Ivan was a breaker and that was all he’d ever done. By the end of it he could handle a ballroom routine; it was amazing. There was the one time that he danced a lyrical dance with Allison, and it was to track “Why,” by Annie Lennox. They rehearsed it, and every single person in that studio had chills and goose bumps. I’ve never experienced anything like that before."

The complete interview is available in text here, and as a podcast here.

SYTYCD Season 3 Contestant Buzz

There's some buzz floating around the web about Jaimie Goodwin. It's clear that she has made it to the Las Vegas round. She already has a fan base and is out of the same studio that gave us Travis Wall. Don't be surprised if she is in the top 20.

Around The Web

Thoughtworthy.com has the track listing from last Thursday's So You Think You Can Dance New York audition show.

Get the ballroom insider's perspective on the show here. Seems even they liked Jamal.

This article at calendarlive.com takes us behind the scenes with Nigel Lythgoe, and analyzes his style and influence on both SYTYCD and American Idol. Well worth a read.

Here is TVSquad's recap of the first show of season 3.

Fangasm's recap is here.

Fans of Reality TV posted their recap here.