So You Think You Can Dance returns for its second consecutive night of auditions this week.  Last night, the intrepid judges, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, descended upon Salt Lake City, Utah and Dallas, Texas to size up the dancing talents of the locals.  They were assisted by Mandy Moore in Salt Lake and Adam Shankman in Dallas, and they promoted a total of 82 dancers from these cities to the Vegas auditions.

Tonight, the search for America's next favorite dancer continues with auditions in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as our nation's capital.  Keep checking back; I'll be here with live thoughts throughout the entire two-hour broadcast.

Charleston, SC

Our first stop tonight is Charleston, SC, the most well-mannered city in America.  Cat Deeley hangs out with the dancers in line, having fun and learning how to be "a little hood."  Joining Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy tonight is Tyce Diorio.

First up is Sheila Kaiser, a biological engineering major.  She is auditioning against her dad's wishes.  I'm not a huge fan of her brand of dance, but she is clearly well-trained and talented in modern.  Nigel makes borderline-lewd remarks and Mary shrieks.  Tyce also loves her performance.  After her performance, Sheila says that she skipped several classes to be at the audition, and it looks like she'll be missing some more because Nigel gives her a ticket to Vegas.

Erin Mansour and John Tabakian perform a laughable pair routine next.  It's not in sync at all, and is rife with dorky '90s era club moves.  Woah.  Erin admits that she has only been doing ballroom for eight hours, and that infuriates Mary.  They are both immediately sent home.

The next performer is Jeremiah Hughes, from Toronto, Canada.  I already like him because (a) he's hot and (b) he's Canadian.  As soon as the music starts, I add (c) he's an amazing dancer to my list.  He does amazing jumps, except for one that he doesn't quite land perfectly.  He can work on his choreo, but he has a lot of potential.  Tyce gives him some helpful hints and tells him to stay focused.  Nigel tells him to go straight to Vegas, prompting Jeremiah to do a standing back layout.

Syiddah King follows Jeremiah with a perplexing performance that has the judges slack-jawed but not in a good way.  Nigel says that she is neither a good dancer nor a good mover.  Syiddah says that she's not really dancing either, she's just her.  Huh?  I don't get that.  She talks through all the judges critiques and then exits the stage before they finish talking.  Shamika Robinson is no better.  All Shamika does is writhe about on her knees.

Next up, Anthony Hart performs a hip hop routine.  Tyce says that his performance is too one-note.  He's a good mover, but not a good technician.  All three judges give him no's.  Anthony's brother, Antwain Hart ,performs immediately after.  They are dressed similarly, but Antwain is certainly better than Anthony.  They have similar styles, but Antwain has more moves.  Nigel asks Anthony back so that the two brothers can perform a routine together.  It's a cute routine that I can see them doing at a club somewhere.  I'm sure they get lots of girls that way.  Based on this second performance, Nigel asks both brothers back for choreography.

After the choreography round, Antwain and Anthony both find out that they are going to Vegas, along with 18 other dancers from the first day of auditions.

Day 2 of auditions in Charleston begins.  Abigail Thurman is auditioning because she wants to find out if she can dance.  That's not a good sign, if she doesn't already know, you know?  Turns out, she really can't dance.  Fortunately, she doesn't seem like the delusional type of contestant, so that's at least refreshing.  Nigel says she's not a loser; she's just a s---y dancer.  Ha ha!

BJ Harris performs hip hop next and starts out with this amazing crab walk kind of move.  He's completely self-taught, but he can really move.  He looks like a jellyfish.  He exhibits extraordinary flexibility and humor, but he's definitely rough.  All the judges invite him back for choreography.

The next performer is Courtney Galiano.  She's hoping for Mary to scream for her.  Nobody should hope to hear that sound.  Courtney has an amazing body and great technique.  She's a pleasure to watch, very strong with beautifully controlled jumps.  And guess what?  She's going to Vegas!  I'm not sure that she got Mary to scream, though, thankfully.

Uh oh.  The next auditioner is Jason Looney.  I'm going to try to avoid the obvious joke about how he is clearly crazy.  He's got full makeup, a glittery shirt and fuschia hotpants.  He insists on being called Betty Wallace, and Nigel calls him a disgrace to dancing and a disgrace to transvestites.  The judges are so not amused.  This begins a montage of bad dancers accompanied by Michael Jackson's "Thriller."  Ooh, I would really love to see some dancing vampires right about now.

Claire Callaway auditioned in season 2 and made it to Vegas, but had to leave because of a foot injury.  Nigel had invited her back the following year, but she decided to have a baby instead, so she is back now.  She hasn't danced much since her pregnancy, but she is back tonight.  She is certainly not bad, but I'm getting an NFL cheerleader vibe from her dancing.  There wasn't very much of substance in it.  Tyce tells her to explore different techniques and break out from being a one-trick pony.  She kind of hyperventilates on stage while explaining herself.  The judges ask her back for choreography.

It's time for the choreography round for the second day.  From this, the judges decide to send Claire and 17 other dancers to Vegas.  Unfortunately, BJ is not going.  I hope he tries again next year, though, because he was awesome.


Washington, DC

So You Think You Can Dance makes its way to our nation's capital, where a whole new crop of hopefuls aim to please Nigel, Mary and guest judge Dan Karaty.

Megan Campbell dances first.  She's good, but I'm not a fan of her choreography.  She's a bit awkward, but seems to have plenty of potential.  She gets uniform praise from all of the judges, and they give her a ticket to Vegas.  Oh geez, Nigel asks her for a big kiss.  Inappropriate, much?

Uh oh, it's Dancing Derrick Bradley next.  He auditioned last year and nearly fainted, and he's back again this year, yelling "Dancing D in the house - holla!" nonstop.  Oh golly, he does the dice throwing move.  His performance is basically one big mime routine without the white makeup.  Mary concedes that he has improved since last year, but he's not going to make it on So You Think You Can Dance.

The next performer is a hip hop dancer named Markus Shields, who dances for the memory of his mother, whom he lost when he was 12.  He wears a T-shirt with her likeness emblazoned on the front, and he really wows me.  He's got great moves and emotion, but he isn't happy with his performance.  Nigel tells him that he's a very good dancer, but he should not let on that he messed up at all.  The judges invite him back for choreography, and he finally cracks a smile.

Now, we get a montage of unique dancers, including a trio of hula girls.  Some bad, some good.  There's even a krumper en pointe.

Yay, I love swing dancers!  Markus Smith and Deonna Ball are practitioners of DC swing, which is descendant from lindy hop.  They are a really entertaining couple.  I've never seen this type of dance, and they put in elements from a lot of different other styles as well.  The judges are unanimous: Markus and Deonna will be back for the choreography.

At the end of the first day, eleven guys and eleven girls assemble for the choreography.  Deonna is unfortunately not going to Vegas.  Neither is her partner.  The other Markus (Shields) is going to Vegas, though, and he finally smiles.  Nine other dancers are also awarded plane tickets.

The second day of auditions begins with Brandon Bryant.  He tried to audition in season 1 when he was 15.  (He lied and said he was 18.)  Now he's back, and wow, he's cut.  His musical choice is very dramatic and symphonic, which suits his impressive dancing to a T.  I'm definitely in love with him.  Wow.  He's my favorite so far.  Mary shrieks.  Give this man a ticket to Vegas!

The next dancer is a former nerdy kid named Phucdat Nguyen.  Actually, he's still pretty nerdy.  He takes off his clothes in the middle of his routine to reveal a yellow jumpsuit.  He does pretty well with his floorwork and has other moments.  He's generally very entertaining, and the judges invite him back for choreography.

Next, Mariya Priymak does a rhythmic gymnastics ribbon routine.  She doesn't really impress the judges enough, though.

Last year, Julliard graduate Anthony Bryant also performed a ribbon routine, which Nigel criticized for being too femme.  Anthony is back again, this year wearing top and bottom camo fatigues.  He's definitely a fabulous dancer.  I think he's trying to look masculine with the fatigues or something.  Nigel thinks he's missing a spark, even though he has flawless technique.  I really don't get why the judges are being so harsh on him because he was so good!  The judges ask him back for choreography.

Travis Wall teaches the group choreography next.  Based on the group performance, Phucdat is sent home.  Anthony Bryant is also sent home!  Wow, that's a travesty.  Cat Deeley tries to comfort him, but he gets angry and starts swearing.  He puts on a pitch-perfect diva routine, saying how much he suffers for his art.  However, nine other lucky contestants from day two are definitely going to Vegas.

Next week, we'll travel to the Midwest for the final set of So You Think You Can Dance auditions next Wednesday.



-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of FOX)