“So YouThink You CanDance” Comes to theBig “D” DanceMania byKatieDravenstott, Janice LaPointe-Crump and Susan Friday


“This iswhy I lovemy job.All the no’s I have ever heard areworth it, seeing a performance like yours,” exclaimed Lil’Cto an Illinois freestylerwhileNigel Lythgoe, So You Think You CanDance producer and lead judge, explained, “We are gambling on you; youmay only last one day but your 3-Dcartoon character imagination is going on.”


SYTYCD’s second trip toDallas in search ofAmerica’s favorite dancer for season nine contained both thrills and disappointments. Itwould have been a typical audition scene inside the SouthernMethodist University’sMcFarlinAuditoriumwere it not for the platformwhere the three judges sat, the silent boomcameras zooming around and the assistant directors revving up the audience.


Hopefuls fromTexas,Oklahoma,Kansas and other surrounding states were scattered up and down the aisles stretching and listening to their iPods. Some dancerswere tricked outwith in-your-face garb, crazy hair- dos and tattoos. Thewomen looked like they came straight fromdance classwhilemost of themale contestants appeared out of place, often in jeans, t-shirts and hats. The nervous chatter in the theater died down whenNigel rose fromhis chair and said, “Let’s begin.”


THATWASBUCK. The first part of the day consistedmostly ofHip- Hoppers.Correction: Poppers, Tutters,Krumpers andB-Boys, forHip- Hop is not a style, but away of living, according toNigel.


AaronBlanelock, 19, fromDallas, TX, performed a style ofHip-Hop called Poppingwhich involves tensing and relaxing one part of the body at a time.MaryMurphy called him“absolutely likable” and a “goodmover” but Lil’Cthought hismoveswere limited.Known for his eloquent and soul searching critiques, the “Buck”master Lil’Cdid- n’t hold back on theDallas contestants, tellingBlanelock “dancing is a formof communication and thatwas a simple conversation.”Emilio González, 19, also fromDallas, TX, gave a demonstration on Tutting (creating patterns and anglesmainlywith your arms) andBone Breaking (rhythmic contortion-likemovement.)While the shapeswere all there, Lil’Csaid themovement needed to be “crispy” and “nutty.”


MC CatDeeleywelcomes contestants outside of SMU’sMcFarlinAuditorium. Photo: Cheryl Callon


Atouching back story from23-year-oldKrumper TristenEverett had us all rooting for himto dowell.With a camera trained on hismother in the audience,Everett said hewas inspired by seeing his parents com- pete in disco contests.After his father’s death he started dancing as a tribute to him.His self-taughtKrump Stepwas asNigel stated, “like a sheep inwolf’s clothing, unfocused and too internalized.” Lil’Cadvised thatwhile contestants should not necessarily changewho they are as dancers, they should find away to bring 90million viewers “into your world andmake thempay attention towhat you’re doing.”


STYLEPREFERENCES.Because of editing, viewers don’t get to see the dancers’ full performance or the lengthy introductions and cri- tiques,which at timeswere quite surprising.WhenKelseyOliver, 19, fromAustin, TX,mentioned her drill teamexperience in her introduc- tion,Nigel needed an explanation of the style that originated in Texas thanks to theKilgoreCollegeRangerettes ofKilgore, TX. “Drill teams consist of 60-70 girls performing during halftime at football games to keep people in their seats,”Oliver said. “During practicewewould run the routines or, aswe call them, drills over and over again.”


Therewas also a discussion comparing concert dance to contemporary. According toNigel, contemporary is technical prowess layeredwith emotion and threadedwith storytelling. Prior to his performance, GiovanniAllen, 23, fromDallas, TXsaid concert dance evolved fromthe techniques of LesterHorton andMarthaGrahamand centers around body shapes.


What thrilled the judges are themoments ofmagic and pure artistry. This happened on Sundaywhen aDallas street dancer broughtMary to tears and overwhelmedNigel and Lil’C.At first everyone laughed at the audacious claims the dancermade about absorbing and portraying the pain and suffering of his audience so thatwhen the dance ended theywould see life differently.After his performance a surprised Lil’C andNigel agreed that they had neverwitnessed this freestyle form. “What you did grabbed us and drewus in . . . youwere up there as an artist and Iwant to be able to showyourwork,”Nigel said.


Pictured: SYTYCDseason nineDallas auditions. Photo: Cheryl Callon page 14


May 2012 www.thedancecouncil.org


SYTYCDLOWDOWN.Asomewhat different set up this yearwill chal- lenge the producers to hold the show’s vast audience. Since the SummerOlympicswill limit the number of results shows, the 20 final- istswill performand be judged in a two hour formatwith results the


DANCE!NORTHTEXAS a publicationof the dance council ofnorthtexas vol. 15 • no. 2


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