06/04/2010
So You Think You Can Dance: Moving through the pain

Watching the Vegas part of the So You Think You Can Dance auditions reminded me of the discomfort, both emotional and physical, that goes along with such a high level of performance.

Take Anthony Burrell, dancing his contemporary solo through the agony of a pulled hamstring. Or Nicole Knudson, a judge's favourite in Dallas, on the verge of a nervous collapse after having to repeat the ballroom routine, gasping "I just need to sit down" through her sobs. Or Adechike Torbert, tears streaming down his face as the judges told him he'd have to dance for his life.

After winning a reprieve with his solo, Adechike turned away from the camera, dropped to his knees and beat his fists against the floor. It's raw emotion and drama that I don't get the sense is manufactured for the show.

Cuts came fast and furious as the competition moved to Vegas, with 122 dancers slashed to 58.

Among those sent home were Rachel Girma, the rhythmic gymnast who was a standout in L.A.; Sarah Brinson, the Charlize Theron lookalike who auditioned in New York; and Jordan Johnson, the 26-year-old former drug addict from Hollywood who really seemed to need a break.

How great was it to watch Jordan, who cried as he told Cat Deeley the story about his biological father rejecting him, blow the judges away in Dallas with an energetic and humorous routine? And how heartbreaking was it to see him mess up the cha cha and get sent home, knowing that this was a guy who'd already faced a lifetime of disappointments?

There was good news in Vegas, too.

Ambitious B-boy Jose Ruiz, who auditioned in New York, survived the ballroom round. Kent Boyd, one of my favourites from Chicago, did well: he was among a group of soloists who earned special praise from the judges, including the aforementioned Anthony.

And two standouts from last season's auditions were back and earning applause: Billy Bell, who made top 20 in Season 6 but had to drop out because of illness, and Alex Wong (from Vancouver!) who had to back out pre-top 20 because of a commitment to a ballet company.

As always, the ballroom round was tough on the dancers, not the least because choreographer Toni Redpath was such a mean teacher, screeching at the contestants to look at her, listen to her and so on ("Toni is like a nazi Barbie," quipped Billy).

The cha cha proved to be the undoing or near undoing of some favourites. Adechike flubbed it after barely scraping through hip hop and underwhelming the judges with a tap solo. Nigel suggested giving him one last chance to perform a contemporary routine, the style of dance that got him to Vegas in the first place.

Adechike didn't let them down, with a solo full of strong, measured movement. Nigel

"How dare you deny us the beauty of that movement by being as silly as you've been," judge Nigel Lythgoe chastised Adechike. "I can only put it down to your immaturity or stupidity, whichever way you want to go with it. I'm so, so pleased we had the opportunity of seeing you do that right now."

Nicole, meanwhile, managed to stay in the competition by a hair, or more precisely a whole lot of hair.

The judges decided to have her repeat the cha cha with her huge mass of curly hair down instead of in her signature bun, which Nigel compared to Marge Simpson's. Despite an initial attack of nerves, Nicole did better the second time around.

But the relief of making it through was tempered by a warning: "Next round you gotta bring it," judge Mary Murphy said.

It was quite a comedown from the Dallas auditions where judge Tyce Diorio declared that Nicole had "the kind of talent, I think, that comes along every hundred years."

Also making a big impression in Dallas was Ida Saki, 18, an incredibly strong and fluid contemporary dancer.

She told the judges both her parents were from Iran and her mother had always wanted to dance but been prohibited from doing so.

The judges also put through Marcella Raneri, a pretty blond whose father was a mobster.

Then the auditions moved to Nashville and it all went to hell in a handbasket.

The first performer was a girl named Faith who danced what was possibly the most subdued flamenco ever seen.

"You make dead people look like party animals," Nigel told her.

One of the few highlights for the judges was Brian Gaynor, a young man with scoliosis who did an excellent robot despite the pain of his condition and who had auditioned before in Season 3.

Nigel explained that the partnering the show requires would be too much for Brian but promised that he and the other two men who make up the dance group Remote Control will get to perform on SYTYCD.

Next week, Cat Deeley tells us, Vegas is going to get even tougher. When it's all over, the judges will travel to contestants' home to give the good or bad news.

source:
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xilef a écrit : Billy Bell on SYTYCD Season 7-Vegas Solo

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Mu6SiGWtM[/youtube]