This week’s ep brings us to the sun-soaked city streets of Los Angeles and a never-ending parade of fabulous dancers! I mean seriously, did anyone else get tired at how brilliant everyone was? Even the bad ones could still do a double pirouette or a backflip! And Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family was this week’s guest judge is the most likeable man on earth, so needless to say, this episode was overflowing with amazing.
Here are the top five auditions from this week’s episode. Cue the list!
1) Alexa Anderson
Starting off the show was Alexa, a second-time hopeful who made it all the way to the total nerve-wracking Green Mile* before losing her position to Season 8’s Ryan Ramirez. While I can see why there wasn’t enough room for two blond Blake Lively-esque bombshells on the SYTYCD stage, maybe this year will be her time to stand out. Performing an audition piece to an acoustic version of “Young Blood” by the Naked and Famous, there was a little too much arm flailing for my liking but she showed amazing control and there was definitely a little Mia Michaels influence in her choreography (always a plus!).
*Green Mile = the hallway dancers walk through before they learn whether they make the Top 20.
2) Eliana Gerard
This Alvin Ailey trained ballet dancer left the judges speechless and garnered a standing ovation at the end of her heart-stoppingly beautiful routine. But not only is she a classically trained dancer, she also worked with Cirque de Soleil as an aerial pole dancer. Yeah, apparently that occupation exists. And fun fact: pole dancers need to dress like… well, pole dancers because the skin helps them stick to the pole. Huh.
3) Nick and James Aragon
These two fast talking twins were easily the most entertaining part of the whole episode. Constantly talking over each other and punctuating every sentence with a finger snap or a head bob, they were like the ultimate gay stereotype in stereo. And I loved it! So what if their routine was dated and these days six year olds are doing harder tricks, I could just watch them talk all day. When they were disqualified for not meeting the age limit, their exclamation of, “we old but we ain’t dead, dang!” was just priceless. Somebody give these two a reality show on Bravo!
4) Caley Carr
Surfer/Tapper/Skateboarder/mustache enthusiast. You definitely don’t see that on many business cards. And while he didn’t make it pass the choreography round, his laid-back tapping style (to the ubiquitous “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye) and happy-go-lucky attitude was a nice change of pace from the intense type-A Rachel Berry-types that are usually featured. And he’s easy on the eyes too. Call me maybe?
5) Jasmine Matson and Marshea Kidd
And the show isn’t complete without a Cinderella story. This brother-sister duo was miraculously able to walk away from a devastating car crash that should’ve taken their lives. Marshea, the brother, was in a coma just six weeks ago. Now he, and his 18 year old sister Jasmine, are on their way to Vegas to try their hands at dance fame. If that doesn’t inspire you to carpe diem it up, I don’t know what will.
