So You Think You Can Dance 2010: Nigel, Adam and Mia Michaels Judge Contestants in New York, Miami

Think You Can Dance? Only If the Judges Say You Can

Karan Moses Robinson
They wriggled, they bounced, they boogied, and one even wore a bowl of fruit on "her" head and did a striptease. Turned out she was Jamie Greco, a he, though, when he threw one of his broccoli "breasts" at the judges at the end of his number. And this was only day two of auditions in New York City for the seventh season of 'So You Think You Can Dance 2010.'

No ticket to Las Vegas for him, but judges Nigel Lythegoe, Adam Shankman and Mia Michaels awarded some dancers with a ticket right on the spot, including 22-year-old Sarah Brinson, a "plus-size" dancer. Also going to Vegas, are Giselle Peacock and partner Henry Byalikov, both former Broadway stars, who performed a sexy ballroom dance.

Contestant Megan Carter, a plus-size dancer, brought the judges to tears with her beautiful moves. A dancer for 15 years, she's always dreamed of dancing professionally. Michaels and Shankman were moved to tears. "You just blew every stereotype out of the water," said Shankman. "I'm so happy you just schooled me."

Lythegoe, bent on reality, told Carter it was tough for people her size to get jobs, and Michaels, a choreographer and plus-size dancer herself, agreed. Carter got the chance to dance in the choreography round, but was ultimately eliminated.

The choreography round seems a little unfair because they're putting contestants out there with more experienced, professional dancers. In most cases the contestant just couldn't keep up with them.

Many dancers were told right on the spot they wouldn't be going to Vegas. Most seemed to take it well, especially since it wasn't always easy to gauge what the judges were thinking. I heard an "Oh my, God" after one performance and couldn't tell if the judge loved or hated it.

Judges, while qualified to critique dancing techniques, should stick to just that. After Scott Vogel revealed he is a biohazard remediation specialist, which means he cleans up blood and bodily fluids from crime and homicide scenes, the judges expressed revulsion, with Michaels telling Vogel that was disgusting.

Okay, he just performed a country line dance in jeans and a plaid shirt, he's rejected on the spot and then he has to stand there and listen to them trash his job, which is after all, valuable to society. Not a good performance, judges!

I certainly agreed with Lythegoe and the Miami judges including Sonya Tayeh, on one particular audition. That's when contestant Darla Kopylova brought her father along to dance with her. Lythegoe said it made him feel awkward and the other judges agreed.

It wasn't exactly the kind of dance you'd see at a junior high father-daughter dance and it made me a bit uncomfortable, too.

Daria appeared shocked at the response and said the dancing was all acting-I'm sure it was a totally innocent situation, but unfortunately she was judged more by who her partner was than by her talent.

There were the winners of course, including Teddy Tedholm, 18, who went to Vegas last year. Michaels told him he reminded her of the unpopular kid and ended up saying his dancing was "pretty genius." Again, judges, what does looking like an unpopular kid have to do with dancing? That he might turn out to be a success, which is the best revenge?

That aside, here are the list of dancers who earned those coveted tickets and will be going to Las Vegas:

Sarah Brinson

Giselle Peacock

Henry Byalikov

Teddy Tedholm

Briana De Falco

Daniel Baker:

Anthony Burrell:

Megan Davis

Edward Spots

Henry Rivera

Tyrell Rolle

Michael Petr

Amy Aguiar-Riley

Jose Ruiz

Published by Karan Moses Robinson

Karan Robinson writes an op-ed column twice a month for the Enquirer-Herald, a community newspaper of York & Clover. She has written for The Charlotte Observer, American Profile magazine, Easy Street magazin...  View profile

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