Thank you, So You Think You Can Dance, for awarding the first half hour of last night’s two hour episode to the truly great auditions. Since tonight’s top 20 is announced, I’m glad that we had a little bit of a chance to get to know the real contenders instead of watching dummies roll around in their underwear or leap around in drag. From Katie Sheen to Janette Manrara, the first 30 minutes thrilled me to no end. Now if I could just figure out who the heck Napolean and Tabitha D'Umo are, I’ll be all set!

I was in a good mood until Yesie and Philip showed up to audition again this year. What transpired there may have been the most depressing 10 minutes of my life. I figured Yesie had it in the bag when she came back to audition after getting cut late in the game last year in Vegas. Then, her stupid knee had to pop out of place and Nigel was done with her. He felt that she needed to get that taken care of (and he’s right) but poor Yesie’s dream of making the top 20 was put on hold for another year. That was followed by her friend Phil, who did make it to Vegas, but who broke down after his amazing audition for his poor friend Yesie.

On a side note, is it me or have there been a ton of contemporary dancers this year? Yes, there have been poppers but, for the most part, the hip hop dancers have been poorly represented. I get a little tap dancer here, a little ballroom dancer there, but it seems that everywhere I look, someone’s got a Yael Naim song on and leaping through the air with their hair in the face. I hope that tonight’s top 20 will represent every style of dance equally and give us a diverse and exciting season!



- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of FOX)