It seems I’m not the only one who hates sitting through bad auditions for FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Though there are the few and the proud who love an awkward hip hop routine, an overwhelming amount of BuddyTV readers would rather pass. In a poll on our site, 87% of the readers said they would prefer to see more good auditions than bad. Some even opt to skip the audition rounds all together. “ I only start watching the show when it is like down to the last ten that way my face is not permanently scwinched from the bad dancing,” BuddyTV reader Krytrix said. It’s not just the BuddyTV readers who have had enough. On last night’s 2 hour episode, Nigel, Mary, and Mandy had no patience for those with a lack of training or a serious passion for dance.

One dancer auditioned in Utah who clearly had no dancing ability whatsoever. The judges mocked her as she did her routine, saying that she looked like a pair of floating trousers. Maybe this girl really thought she was good but it really did seem that she had no idea just how awful she was. Her perplexed look during judges’ feedback set everybody off. Nigel lectured her, saying that he felt like he was being put on. Mary said that the person had to know just how bad she was. Special guest choreographer Mandy Moore said that she was literally speechless. The dancer left, embarrassed and hurt.

Obviously, shows like So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol want to give us bad auditions for the entertainment value. I use the word value loosely in this situation. Since the judges know that that’s part of the formula, aren’t THEY the ones who are putting on the show? Nigel is the executive producer of both shows so he clearly has a lot of say in the formula of the episodes. He chooses to feature bad auditions then pretends to be aggravated that his time has been wasted. If anyone’s being punk’d, it’s the So You Think You Can Dance viewers.


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