So You Think You Can Dance continued tonight with hundreds more hopefuls taking their turn on stage to impress our judges, Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy.

After last night's auditions in Salt Lake City and Dallas, Nigel and Mary made their way to Charleston, South Carolina and Washington, DC in search of ever more talented dancers.  Read on to see what happened.

Charleston, SC

Nigel and Mary were joined by Tyce Diorio to weed out the good from the bad down in Charleston.  In all, they found 38 dancers to send to the second round of auditions to be held next week in Las Vegas.

Among the good dancers were Sheila Kaiser and Jeremiah Hughes. Sheila, the daughter of two engineers and herself a student of engineering, attended the audition against the wishes of her father.  However, it looked like things went her way, as she was immediately awarded with a ticket to Vegas.  Hailing from Toronto, Jeremiah also won the judges over.  Although his choreography might need some work, he proved that he was brimming with potential.

Another memorable performer was Claire Callaway, who auditioned for season 2 of So You Think You Can Dance.  She made it through to Vegas but had to withdraw due to a foot injury.  Nigel had promised to send her Vegas again if she came back to audition the following year, but she could not make it because she had a baby. Now, after two years' absence, she came back to once again try to impress the judges.  She danced a very technique-lite routine, but after excelling in the choreography round, she did end the evening with a ticket to Vegas in her hands.

Notable among the bad performers was a man named Jason Looney.  He arrived on stage wearing a cake of makeup and glittery women's clothing.  He insisted that the judges call him Betty Wallace.  Nigel was immediately annoyed with him, calling him a disgrace to dancers as well as to transvestites.  Needless to say, Jason was sent packing.


Washington, DC

Nigel and Mary were joined by guest judge and choreographer Dan Karaty.  In all, they found 19 dancers to send to Vegas.

Probably the best performer of the evening was a young man named Brandon Bryant.  He tried to audition for season 1 of So You Think You Can Dance even though he was only 15 at the time and the rules stipulate that contestants must be at least 18 years of age.  He showed amazing talent and emotion in his performance, impressing the judges with brand new moves they had never seen before.  Brandon is definitely one to watch this season.

A pair of DC swing dancers, Markus Smith and Deonna Ball, showed off their pair routine.  It was wonderfully jazzy and laid back, incorporating elements from many other styles.  They entertained the judges immensely, but they didn't make the cut past the choreography round.

Another memorable dancer was Anthony Bryant.  Anthony auditioned last year, but was cut because the judges didn't think he was masculine enough.  He came back with a vengeance, dressed in camouflage fatigues.  I thought he had wonderfully flawless technique and beautiful form, but the judges must have some kind of grudge against him.  They asked him back for the choreography round, but then they decided that he didn't have enough passion or that he had the wrong kind of personality, and cut him from the competition.  He did not take the news well, however.  He stormed out of the theater, swearing up a storm.


Next week, So You Think You Can Dance will have one last preliminary audition round on Wednesday before taking the show to Vegas.  Don't miss it!



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