SYTYCD - Season 6 Week 4 - New Orleans

For the first time, So You Think You Can Dance heads to the Big Easy for auditions. Nigel Lithgoe is in England accepting his honorary Doctorate from the University of Bedfordshire, so doing the judging are Mary Murphy, Lil C and Adam Shankman. The hottest temperatures of the year met them there, meaning the dancers were let inside to wait for their numbers so they wouldn't swelter in the heat. Was their trip to New Orleans as hot as the temps? Read on...

Hits
Shelby "Skip" Skipper decided to audition the morning of the tryouts. While this would normally be a big bust, he was absolutely mesmerizing. He performed the "New Orleans Bounce" - a dance style never before seen on the show. All three judges were amazed, and Skip got to skip straight to Vegas.

Jonathan Litzler, a dancer with training in acrobatics, flew through the air and nailed the dancing routine as well. After high praise from all three judges, he go to fly to Vegas.

Others who received tickets to Vegas (all contemporary) included Alison Nance, Calvin Turner Jr. and Edward Spots. Their routines were flawless.

Justin Kenney is a hip-hop break dancer who got his story aired... He was in an SUV accident where the tire blew and the car flipped 4 or 5 times, sustaining head trauma. His breaking looked perfect on stage, and there were no signs that he had to limit himself because of the accident. His arm strength was just crazy, he bounced around on one arm for what seemed like forever, and could spin like no other. He went on to choreography, where he actually did fairly well. Due to personality (and his ability to pick up something like the Latin Ballroom/Salsa they had to do in choreography) they took a gamble and sent him on to Vegas.

Kimalee Piedad introduced a new style of dance to the show - Theatric Ballroom. As she described it, it's like ice skating without skates. She had some crazy lifts, amazing connection with her partner, and perfect lines. She got her ticket to Vegas with her audition.

Jakob Carr stunned the judges with his "amazing" and "fantastic" contemporary routine. Mary said he "lit up the stage", Lil C called him "phenomenal" and Adam told him he "freakin' rocked". He is Vegas-bound.

Diana Drexler, dancing through the loss of her grandfather the day before, showed her strength and passion on stage. The judges were impressed by her emotional strength as well as her moves, and put her through to choreography. She didn't disappoint, and earned her ticket to Vegas. Her father told her her grandfather passed just in time to get a front row seat to see her dance... and I expect he'll still be in the front row in Vegas. The most impressive part was the fact that she was so positive, and wanted to give her family positive news. Truly amazing woman.

Misses
Eric Le Blanc was running so high on Red Bulls (he had 6 before his solo audition) he was manic. He squealed, shrieked and bounced around so much that it was dizzying. The judges put him through to choreography only because he was so amusing (in the wrong way). He flailed at choreography (after drinking ANOTHER Red Bull, and left. One has to wonder if he will watch the clips later and cringe, or if he ended up in the hospital with heart problems.

Micah Mixson shared his past with SYTYCD. He was raised in severe poverty, and after turning to drugs and fighting, he turned to dancing. His hip-hop routine had perfect hits and the bass bump from his chest impressed Lil C. He went on to choreography, but was in way over his head. He promises to come back next season (hopefully he'll cut that hair that by the end was sticking to his face - he would be so cute without it!).

Some really awful routines the judges saw included contemporary pieces by Lloyd Ballard, Tierney St. John and Casey Crisosto.

Advice
After seeing one too many bad routines, Mary let the dancers know exactly what NOT to do. Here's Mary's list of the biggest don'ts on the show:
1. Hat down over eyes.
2. Reaching out to nowhere.
3. Rubbing your body.
4. Men's booty shaking.

The highlight of Mary's list was Adam Shankman's demonstration of each one. Hilarious!