So You Think You Can Dance Canada - Vancouver and St. John Auditions!

Well, we're into night two of auditions and have moved west to Vancouver. I always look forward to seeing what kind of dancers we're going to get here, and the nerd that I am, I'm always watching to see if I recognize anyone... Of course, I never do... :)

After lots of familiar landscape, Stanley Park, Coal Harbour, the downtown core, we head straight into the Centre of Performing Arts.

The same judges are on the panel here, Jean Marc (JM), Tre Armstrong, Luther Brown and Mary Murphy, and joining them is Isaac from last year, telling the dancers they just need to hit it hard and leave it on the dance floor.

We start with B-boy Kenny "Muggy Mug" Mugisha from Surrey. He tried out last year, but didn't make it through, so he's here to try again. He's been training hard for the past year and is determined to impress JM.

His performance has lots of tricks and seems to be pretty good.

Luther starts off by saying that while there were lots of sloppy, unfinished moves, it was a great performance, very entertaining, he just needs to tighten it up. Mary loved the floor work and the tricks and thought that millions of people would love his face.

Tre called the flip he did from his head awesome and JM puts him right into the finals.

Next up is contemporary dancer Amelia Randal from Red Deer, Alberta, and I thought this was quite good, a very precise performance.

JM makes a comment on the fact that she's always had the same dance teacher, and that might not be a good thing because you don't get exposed to new challenges. Tre agrees with him, but thought she was good, but lacking in an urban feel.

Luther says he didn't feel the magic right at the beginning but was enjoying it by the end. Mary said she was fabulous, with beautiful lines and that the camera would adore her. They put her through to Blake's Boot Camp (BBC). By the end of the night, she makes it into the finals.

Ahh, I remember this one from last year - Stephanie Sy from Richmond, the girl who broke her foot in two places during the auditions. She's all healed up and back to try again. When they showed the replay of her ankle twist/foot breaking I physically cringed. So bad!

A contemporary piece that is really, really good, and I'm thinking they will put her straight through.

Mary calls her remarkable and JM says she is a great example to follow. Tre says she kept it short and sweet and that it was an amazing performance. Luther says she was great, and indeed they put her into the finals.

Oh lord. Spandy Andy Rimer. Really? He puts the "ment" into entertainment. Or something. Oh, and he has a hole in his tights. Right in his crotch. So this should be good.

All you can hear is Luther crying "no, no, no, make it stop". I hear ya, brother. Oh sweet Jesus, now the shoes have come off and he's got them on his hands. But the hole in the crotch really is stealing the show.

Mary says he was showing us his kibbles and bits (hee), and that he was entertaining, but probably not for the right reasons. JM says they need to be a bit more selective and they send him on his way.

Danielle Gardner is up next, a contemporary dancer from Surrey. She does a lovely dance and has really cool hair. Kim will like it.

JM says she looks like the girl next door, and I kind of wonder what that has to do with dance critique, but whatever. Tre says she's special, a real star and Luther calls her a breath of fresh air. Mary loved her and puts her straight through.

We take a commercial break and after a quick plug for the 2010 Olympics we move on to Victor Tan from Surrey. He's a B-boy that tried out last year... wow, lots of them coming back this year, aren't there!

Luther says he was fun to watch with good energy and character. Mary found him absolutely charming, yes she did, and loved his humour and confidence. JM says he was fantastic, very smooth, and Tre calls him a smart dancer, one of a kind. And onto the finals he goes. But not before making some weird analogy about 5 grilled cheese sandwiches.

Charlene Hart from Abbotsford is up next, and she's been training in New York and taking some ballroom classes as well to increase her odds. Little did she know all she had to was...

Oh dear - her top just came down. Ack!

The judges show mercy, cut the music and just put her into BBC. Good call. She's mortified.

Tyler Jacobs from Vancouver auditioned last year, and at that time we learned he was a champion native dancer, but he auditioned hip-hop. They told him he should have stuck with his skill set, so that's what he is doing this year, full on. He's returned in full native garb, a very impressive costume that he made himself.

Mary loves the costume and says that he is a joy to watch. He responds by telling her how hard he's worked in the past year, learning new things, and getting into shape. In fact, he's lost 25 lbs. Wow, good job! JM says that he sending the right message and that this show is supposed to be inspirational, pushing people to work harder. He says the dance was very powerful.

Tyler goes on to say that he can't afford to take lots of other dance classes, so he puts his energy into the native dancing, and JM is moved by this, enough to put him into BBC. Unfortunately, he doesn't make it into the finals, and almost walks out on Blake, but stays in the end and says he enjoyed the experience.

Natalie Heath from Surrey was here last year as well, and she made it into the finals, but not the Top 20, and wow, is she ever a great performer!

Luther says she entered the stage as if she owned it and Mary is wow'd, telling her she has unbelievable feet. JM remembers her from last year and felt that this year she tried to add more sex appeal, which didn't necessarily work because it didn't feel genuine. Tre says she has a purity like Allie did and they put her into the finals.

Up next is hip hop dancer Josh Martin from Winnipeg, Manitoba and he says he's a natural dancer at heart. His performance was good, I liked it.

Luther says he has lots of good energy and Josh starts talking but I don't really catch it, mainly cuz he was kind of talking over Luther. That's never a good thing. We've watched contestants talk themselves right out of contention on this show. Mary comments that he likes to talk a lot, and coming from her, that really is something... She says he was enjoyable to watch, but... it wasn't quite enough. JM says he really showed us what he can do. Tre feels it would be a shame to lose him at this point, so they put him into BBC. But that's not good enough for Josh, he's really unimpressed with that decision, figures he should have been put straight through, and maybe right into the Top 20, if he had his way about it. However, in the end he does make it into the finals. I don't know how I feel about this, I'm a bit put off by his attitude.

Another one from last year, contemporary dancer Taylor James from Vancouver and he does a really good job, wow, he was good.

JM says he has everything they need, and that his is the perfect example of smooth and passionate. Tre says he looked great and danced wonderfully. Luther says he has lots of potential and Mary says it was great, very unique and it kept her attention. Straight through to the finals.

Bonnie Rose Buchart is up next from Victoria and whoa! Did we just see... I think she just flashed us her hoo hoo... Oh yeah, for sure she did, cuz JM just wet himself... Wow. Way to leave an impression.

The judges are having a really hard time keeping it together and she looks a little bewildered as to why that is. I guess she'll catch it on the reruns when she gets home, because that's where she's going.

We go through a quick series of dancers who make it through without us really seeing their auditions. I didn't catch any of the names.

B-Boy James Suh from Surrey does his number next, and he's really quirky and fun, but his hat keeps trying to jump off his head.

Tre references her love for Miles from last year because he really brought the B-Boys to the front. She thinks he's funky. So does Luther. Mary says it was a lot of fun and very entertaining and JM says he is just what we need. They put him straight into the finals, but I kind of think he should have gone to BBC.

Rachel Wainwright from Vancouver is back again this year, and this year she's brought a friend, a girl named Ariel (I'm sorry, I didn't catch her last name). They are both really sexy dancers and JM is thrilled. After a lot of ooooh'ing and ahhh'ing they just put them into BBC. And they both make into the finals as well.

Oh for God's sakes - Spandy Andy is back, and he's teaching Blake about double beating it. I.... I'm just going to leave that one alone. I have to. Not with a ten foot pole would I touch that. Although it was nice to finally see a friggin' smile on Blake's face!

We're into our first session of BBC, and Blake looks pretty much as cranky as he did last night. And wow, talk about conflicting messages - first he's screaming that they are rushing it, and in the next breath telling them they look lazy. Sheesh.

From west to east we go, over to St. John's, New Brunswick, and we're mixing up the judges here. Of course, we still have Tre and JM, but joining them are Melissa Williams and Sean Cheesman. As well, we get a guest appearance from Allie, telling the dancers how this show has changed her life. Nice to see her again, she was one of my favorites.

We start with hip hop dancer Kyle Gartshore from Fredericton and his music is really cool, a rappy version of Oh Canada. I'm liking it.

JM says he has the concept of what this competition is about and that he kept every one's attention. Tre said he was very cool and Melissa says he was intriguing. Sean says he appreciates that Kyle came prepared, and for that he feels respected. He goes right into the finals.

Another hip hopper, Desiree Sampson from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Her performance is alright, but isn't quite enough for me. This just looked like club dancing to me. Nothing particularly special about it.

Tre says she has great isolations but it kind of lost it's fervor by the end. Melissa said it fizzled out, but her look is great. Sean thought she was great and very unique (really?) and JM offers to teach her French. Why, I'm not sure... They put her over to BBC, where she ultimately gives up and doesn't make it to the finals.

Another familiar face from last year, cheerleader Troy Miller from St. John. He still has his moves from last year down as he dances to Womanizer by Britney Spears.

Tre says that she can tell he's tightened up some of his moves, but he still comes across as a cheerleader. Melissa doesn't think he's right for this show and I have to say I agree.

Sean wants to go party with Troy and doesn't know why he shouldn't be on the show, why they were so intent on cookie cutters... JM kind of cuts him some slack by blaming the song. And then they put him through to BBC. Really. And can you believe it - or, as Troy says, "Shut the Front Door", when they put him into the finals. Wow. Interesting.

Next up is Tara-Jean Popowich from Lethbridge, Alberta. She's a contemporary dancer who gives us lots of expression and emotion in her piece, and she's really good.

Tre says she danced gloriously and Melissa was sad when it was over. She had great control and took risks and it was fabulous. Sean calls her an artist and says he was blown away. Maybe because she's from Alberta - he does seem to have soft spot for those Albertans... JM gives some analogy about dancers and artists and then gives her a ticket to Toronto.

Contemporary dancer Gabriel Doucet takes the stage next and he's not bad at all.

Sean says he has nice technique and loves that he was trying so hard that he lost his balance, Kind of a lemons to lemonade theory in my opinion, but nonetheless, they put him into BBC. I didn't catch if he made it into the finals. Anyone?

Vanessa Polly is up next and in her montage we learn that her mother recently passed away from cancer. I've been watching long enough to know that when we get a montage, we usually get a finalist....

She gives a good performance, but I didn't think it was fantastic.

JM says the same and that he thought she was being a bit too careful. Tre says she has great potential and a great body, she just needs to develop more. Melissa says that she found it a bit boring in parts and that she needs to use her loss to develop more passion. Sean loved it, but also thought she could expand. They put her into BBC, where she comes out with a ticket to Toronto. I anticipate a Top 20 finalist here. She strikes me as having the potential to really grow from week to week. I'm crossing my fingers for her.

Breanne Wasylenko from Calgary (uh oh, watch out Sean) Alberta is up next and she is quite good. She gets beaucoup bonus points from me for using Dan Mangan's 'Journal of a Narcoleptic' for her music. I've sung Dan's praises on this blog before and I will take any opportunity to continue to do so. If you don't know him, look him up. Uber talented guy. I also really enjoyed Breanne's dancing.

Enough to get everyone weepy, in fact. Melissa says she was blown away. Once Sean makes the Calgary connection he gets all like he does and at that point I stop listening, because seriously? I'm from Calgary too. And the sheer fact of it does not make me, or millions of others, outstanding dancers.

JM says he felt like a photographer when he watched her, taking snapshots with his mind and Tre said it was breath taking and that it gave her goosebumps. No surprise she's going to to Toronto.

A quick look at what goes on in Blake's Boot Camp and we're at the end of the show.

Next Tuesday we will be going to Montreal (I always look forward to these ones) and to Edmonton - hey, did they audition in Edmonton last year, I don't remember... Perhaps it was Calgary last year?

See you then!