Happy Dance Friday #50 SYTYCD season eight auditions pt 2

We'll start with a leftover from Salt Lake City. I actually had a discussion with a friend about Chase Thomas' choice of costume - or lack thereof, from another perspective. I maintained that other males have auditioned or performed only in trunks before, and such costume does serve to showcase the muscle movement as the dancer expressed was his intent. It's nothing prurient (ooh, look, English major word!) but showing what the human body can do.


Okay, on to my favorite city - NYC.

Brian Henry impressed me in a few different ways. I have to agree with Mary Murphy; putting down other dancers is unprofessional and unkind. Would Mr. Henry like the dancers who come after him putting him down? I don't think so. Still, from what I saw, it looks like he took the correction in stride, so let's focus on his dancing. I get what he says about writing with the body and that certainly shows here. If he makes it through to the top 20, I would love to see him attempt a paso doble. All that raw power would make him a natural.


Samara Cohen (aka Princess Lockerooo) was my first exposure to wacking, and I'll be interested in seeing how she handles Vegas and the different styles she'll be asked to perform there. Really good control of her movements and props to anyone who picks "Flight of the Bumblebee" as their audition piece. If she could carry that precision over to an Argentine Tango, that would be something to see.


Jess LeProtto's Broadway style reminds me of the Kasprzak brothers, and I'd love to see him grow as a dancer. But braces are off, sir. Let's have some more facial expressions. Other than that, I am quite impressed.


Might be interesting to someday see the Kasprzak brothers dance with the Mason sisters. This thought brought to you by the ever-growing SYTYCD family and the audition of Alexis Mason, sister of season five winner Jeanine Mason.

Looks like we could be shaping up for a really good year, and we haven't even seen everybody yet. I appreciate that this year's auditions have focused on the good dancers rather than joke auditions (which irritate me) and those who aren't quite ready aren't humiliated on national TV.

Next week, Vegas, baby!