So You Think You Can Dance 10- Audition #3- Live Blog and Discussion

Hey, it’s Mac, and I found out that I’m now your OFFICIAL So You Think You Can Dance blogger for this season, which is exciting. Normally, you catch me filling in, or doing power lists, but now you can enjoy an entire season with me. So, join me for some DANCE!

Day 2 in Los Angeles. Contestants flipping out.

Judges are: Nigel, Mary, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Slick- 26- Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY- Flexing
He’s basically double/triple jointed, he admits he dislocates his shoulder. For his dance solo, he adds some moonwalking type moves, and slides around on the floor. Coupled with his unique ability to bend his arms, this is actually quite entertaining. It’s like watching a contortionist dance. I’m guessing he’ll get choreo, and then go home. But we shall see. Mary uses the key phrase “amazing at what you do”. Nigel recommends choreography. Specialized hip hop dancers doing choreo is always bad news.

Alex Kessinger- 18- Riverside, CA- Contemporary
She remembers growing up with her brother, and they got pulled out of her mothers care early, and now she lives with her aunt. Her Aunt coaches her. She’s won Miss Dance America. That first leap was rather low to the ground, an there’s a lot of posing. The round house was OK. Her dancing doesn’t seem to mesh with the music, which makes me think they might have swapped it in post. It’s a faster song for the moves she’s doing. She’s very athletic, and very pretty, but I’m not sure there’s a spark there, nor do I feel like she’s “dancing for her life”. She gets to go to Vegas.

Sebastian Serra- 23- Orlando, FL- Ballet
He’s from my town! Represent! I have friends who have worked with/work with the Orlando ballet. This guy is pretty good. Is he Chehon? No. Sorry. He’s not even Billy Bell. Don’t get too excited. Mary hated the music. Jesse thought he was a puerto rican jumping bean. Nigel sends him to Vegas.

A montage of dancers. A blonde girl who is “SO So You Think You Can Dance”, Ball Room dancers, a contemporary girl, a tapper? I wish we could see more.

Misha- 23, Maria- 25- New York, NY- Latin
Maria is crazy sexy cool. Misha is kinda nerdy. Both are good dancers, but Maria can’t help but draw your attention. Very solid latin dance. Nigel agrees with me. Misha was great, but Maria was WOW. Mary screams. Mary tells Maria she’s a hot tamale. Jesse says it’s hard to keep his eyes off of her. Nigel sends them to Vegas.

A montage of bad dancers. There’s a guy doing something with hula hoops, a girl wearing a bird costume, and a male ballerina.

Emilio aka Millie- 22- Houston, TX- Hip Hop/Pop N Lock
He’s worked with Philip Chbeeb. Phillip even appears in the montage. They are roommates. Nigel brings up the six degrees of Phillip Chbeeb in the audience. Emilio moves really fast, and he’s entertaining in the same way Dominic was back in the day. He could do really well on this program, and I’m sure Phillip made him take a few other dance styles to prep for Vegas. He did this thing where he faked breaking his elbow, that was sick. Nigel sends him to choreo.

There’s a montage of people, and there’s a returning contestant on stage. I can’t remember his name…

Makenzie Dustman- 18- Temeculah, CA- Contemporary
Her parents are in a jazz vocal group, and she grew up on the road with her parents. She’s beautiful. Nigel makes her parents sing. Awkward. Why does Nigel always need proof when a contestant says their parents do something? Beautiful piano piece as her music. It allows her emotion to pour through, without a lot of odd heavy beats. She looks great on stage. Great extensions. Great leaps. Solid floorwork. But what I will remember most is her connected emotion to the piece. Nigel thanks her for doing a classic contemporary piece. Mary calls her a star. Jesse says she’s marinated in dance, and says she has a maturity. Jesse then jokingly says No, Nigel says No to choreo, and Mary says No to choreo because she’s going to Vegas!

Emilio and Slick do choreo with Sasha and Marko. Emilio looks good. Slick is struggling.

Jesse compliments Slick for keeping up, but Jesse says keeping up isn’t good enough. Mary says Emilio’s partner was outstanding, and then Mary says he’s going through to Vegas. So is a girl with big poofy hair who I think was on last season.

Now we’re in Austin, Texas.

Nigel and Mary are joined by Minnie Driver. A little kid comes up on stage.

Anthony “J Freeze”- 4- Animator
He teaches himself. He wants to be a star. Anthony started dancing because of Cyrus. He’s preauditioning for Season 24. Nigel says you have to be 18 to compete on the show. He says he’s 18. Nigel asks if he’s married. He says NOOOOOO!. lol. This is adorable. Anthony does a little pop and lock routine, and it’s cute. The audience has to stand up to see him. His parents are invited on stage by Nigel, who commends them. They explain that he saw Cyrus dance, and can’t stop. The audience shouts Vegas, but Nigel has other plans. He sends the kid to Disney world. ADORABLE.

Hayley Erbert-18- Topeka, KS- Contemporary
She says her style of dancing is “sexy”. Nigel tries to hook Hayley’s 9 year old sister up with J Freeze. lulz. Hayley is another dancer that funnels her emotion into her dancing. I don’t think this was as difficult a piece as Makenzie, she might be a little behind in skill level, but it was pretty solid. Great personality. Minnie says that the music was her, and she was the music. Minnie says she should go to Vegas after Nigel suggests choreo. Nigel caves and she gets a ticket to Vegas.

Donovan Gibbs- 18- El Paso, TX- Contemporary/Hip Hop
His parents run a dance studio. His parents gave up their home to keep their dance studio, so now they live in their dance studio. I’m sorry. I forgot to type while he was dancing. I loved every second of the dance, from the crazy awesome music, to him throwing himself into it 100%. That was him dancing for his life, like he needed to eat tomorrow. Mary says he brought FIRE to the stage, Mary says he came with a plan and executed it well. Minnie loved it. Nigel asks who he is here with, and he’s here with his parents. Nigel calls his parents to the stage. Nigel wants the dad and son to dance off. The Dad is a FANTASTIC DANCER in hip hop. Wow. I’d take lessons from him. He can break dance too. Donovan tries to do his stuff, but it’s hard to think that he wasn’t just shown up by his dad. The two embrace when the number was over. The crowd chants Vegas. Minnie wants Vegas. Nigel wants Choreo. Mary is the final vote, and she says Vegas.

A montage of a few female dancers getting sent to Vegas. Four more dancers make it out of Choreo.

Dannon O’Brien- 20- Austin TX- Contemporary
His family runs a haunted house. This kid is so bizarre. He does makeup professionally for the haunted house. When he dances, he’s oddly good. He’s got great legs, and really knows how to use them in his dance as a focal point. Not a lot of arm work, but a ton of kicking, and spins with his legs. He finishes the dance writhing on the floor. Nigel says it was very strong and very creative. Mary calls it engaging. Minnie says that he’s meant to dance forever. Mary sends him to Vegas.

Shane Garcia- 20- Tamarac, FL- Animation/Flexing
He stutters. He’s not as bad as Lazaro. He found out that if he makes a beat, he can talk better. So he basically just raps. He uses dance as a way to express himself as his language. Nigel finds out he stutters, and proceeds to ask him a billion questions. He’s going to do animation. He’s a really good dancer, and unlike the earlier Flexer, he actually tries to work more dance into his routine. Minnie and Mary are almost crying. Minnie says he’s magic, and Shane starts crying. Minnie says when people need to say something, they find a way of saying no matter what. Mary calls him a beautiful artist, and they just had an amazing conversation. Nigel says he has a flow of movement that’s beautiful to watch. Nigel puts him to choreo. Mary agrees. Minnie also agrees.

Danielle Bustillos- 21- Austin, TX- Contemporary
She used to live in Venezuela, and four men jumped out of a car, forced her into a house, locked her in the bathroom, and left her there when she was 8, with the rest of her family. She was terrified. Two days locked in the bathroom. They broke the window in the bathroom and escaped, and then moved to America. Danielle discovered dance in America. Nigel summons her mom to the judging panel. I like her. A really solid dancer. A lot of floor work. A little slow, not as showy as it should be, but she’s a solid dancer, and seems like a good personality. Minnie calls her radiant. Mary says yes to choreo. Nigel agrees, and she’s through to choreo.

Minnie believes her hotel is haunted.

Nick Muckleroy- 21- Houston, TX- Contemporary
Reminds me a lot of Brandon Bryant. Very strong, musclar, male dancer. He does some flips, and his movement is extraordinary. This guy should make the voting rounds for sure. Nigel says his hair is standing on end, and calls Nick brilliant. He says people will pick up a telephone for him. Minnie says he’s phenomenal. Mary calls him a religious experience, and says he was born to dance. He goes through to Vegas. Minnie is heard predicting Top 20.

We have a montage of talent, including a female hip hop dancer. They all make Vegas.

Hampton “The Exorcist” Williams (and Darlesha, feat. Keira)
He’s baaaaaack. Last audition of the day. He’s a dad, he has a daughter, Keira. Nigel looks excited that Hampton has returned. Hampton says his daughter is his inspiration. In the grand tradition, Nigel makes Keira get up and dance on the stage. Keira dances really good, and then her dad joins her, and finally mom Darlesha joins them both. She’s a decent daner, but Hampton is better. This is a pretty cool routine. We see shots of people crying in the audience. Mary says she’s got chills. The trio get a standing O from the audience. Nigel says it was an incredible family. A very moving experience. Nigel sends them all to Vegas (but obviously Keira can’t compete, lol). I’m surprised Darlesha didn’t get sent to choreo.

Speaking of, Daniella and Shane are doing choreo now. I think they both look good, Shane especially.

Mary sends Daniella to Vegas! They try to trick Shane into believing that he’s getting cut, but Minnie sends him to Vegas. Nine more dancers make it out of choreography.

Next week is Boston. Adam is on the judging panel. Join me next week for this. Sound off in the comments. Who was your favorite tonight?

About SirMac 241 Articles
Contributor to mjsbigblog.com. EIC of macthemovieguy.com, Contributor at houseofgeekery.com. Holds a BA in Film from the University of Central Florida.