SYTYCD Recap: Vegas Callbacks

Hey all I'm back (and my TV is thankfully fixed!!) and ready to blog the callbacks of So You Think You Can Dance. I was happy to hear the Hawaiian guy got through last week. Here's hoping more of my early faves on this show last until the live shows. This year a bunch of my early favorites on Idol got cut before the top 36 (David Osmond, Joanna Pacitti, and Ashley Anderson aka the girl who sang "Footprints in the Sand" for her audition and sang the wrong words- she was amazing!!!).

172 dancers will perform for Mia, Lil C, Adam, and Debbie Allen. Yeah for no evil Tyce this round!

First up the dancers repeat their solos for the judges....

Alex Wong: I vaguely remember him from the early rounds. He auditioned in Miami and got great praise from Nigel. Immediately Mia is impressed, so much so that she curses in delight as she sees him dance. I can understand why, as his lines are amazing, especially how he stretches his leg so it is perpendicular to the ground! He is insanely good, though I didn't love his choice of music. He gets a standing ovation from the other contestants, and it is well deserved. No feedback from the judges (that must be nerve wracking for the contestants).

Tony Bellissimo: He needs help opening up a briefcase with a screwdriver. I'm guessing that's part of his act. His routine itself doesn't have much dancing, though when it does he is pretty good. The best part is that he plays a man who is haunted by constant photos of Nigel everywhere during his daily life- including in the briefcase.

Montage of good dancers. The only one I recognize is Phillip Chbeeb. Now the judges deliberate and invite the dancers up on stage.

I thought all the solos looked good, but Nigel was not impressed, announcing he was disappointed and that there would be some cuts now. But if any one judge voted to save a contestant, they would stay. In other words, a vote to eliminate a contestant must be unanimous.

Contestants named Taylor and Erica are cut. I don't really remember them from the early rounds.

Tony Bellisimo is told to stand up next, and they tell him he needs more dancing but then say he is safe. Good for him he was creative in his choreography so he deserves another shot.

45 dancers are cut in this round, including Travis the football coach's son (aw I was rooting for him), Talia "Danny Gokey" Rickards, (wasn't a big fan of hers) and the NY hip hopper whose name I can't spell but who reminded me of Twitch last year (another one I thought had potential to be really good).

Next is the choreography round- a hip hop routine to "Boom Boom Pow". Ugh I hate this song. Napoleon and Tabitha's choreography does look cool though. Gabi Rojas, who I remember the judges loving in NYC even though I didn't love her as much, is nervous about the choreography. Nigel even said back then he thought she would make the top 20. I have a feeling she'll do fine in this round. But no she does in fact mess up several times, as Mary points out (though honestly I wouldn't have noticed if Mary hadn't said so). When she does the moves right she doesn't go all in with them, and she is totally outshined by her partner. I wonder if the judges will cut her for this? No they give her another chance, mainly because her solo was so unique. Or because Nigel will look like a fool if his early favorite is cut in the first choreography round. A girl named Sara who I don't recognize is cut.

37 dancers were cut in this round, leaving 97 left. I don't recognize any of the ones who were cut, so I guess none of them were early standouts.

The next day the dancers start the ballroom round of choreography. They learn a waltz from Jean-Marc and his wife. Many seem to struggle with the moves.

We meet up with Phillip Chbeeb and Arielle Coker, who now must dance with different partners. I think Phillip does an admirable job with the choreography for being a popper, though Adam notes he keep popping while doing his extensions. I did not notice this at first, though it makes sense. The judges said it was rough but give him another chance because of his energy. So the judges do seem to take earlier rounds into account when deciding who stays and who goes. These rounds seem to be more for the borderline dancers than for the favorites. Arielle is next, and she does much better than Phillip of course, since she is a partner dancer by trade. The judges comment on the dancers but it is unclear which ones they are talking about. Arielle did seem to lose some of her spark from the first round, and the judges agree, cutting her. I still thought she was better than Phillip, but I guess she did not stand out enough in the first auditions for them to keep her.

Some of my early ballroom faves had no problem in this round, including Maksim and Asians Oska and Ricky. Non ballroom dancers Kayla and Priscilla also impressed. I don't remember Kayla and I remember Priscilla but I'm still not a big fan of hers.

Next we see the Japanese dancer from NYC, I remember liking him after his solo. He's actually not bad at ballroom, better than Phillip for sure. The judges agree, especially with how he took on the character of the dance. Everyone in his group is safe, causing the guy (sorry don't remember his name) to cry of happiness. He even thanks his teachers for helping them.

Only 16 dancers were cut in this round, so most of them must have been pretty good.

Wow we're only a half hour in... what else happens in this episode??

Next up is the jazz round with Sonja. This should be good for that Gene Kelly guy. Some dancers are getting hurt, but returnees Natalie and Brandon are still going strong. I still don't get the love of Natalie though (I do really like Brandon however....). Sonja even has them do the routine in rehearsal for the rest of the dancers, and Natalie even impresses me this time around. But something seems off during the actual performance for the judges. I'm sure they won't cut her because her solo was so good. WOW. They actually do cut her. I'm not too disappointed since I never liked her that much anyway, though I worry Brandon may suffer the same fate.

The other dancers are in shock, and understandably so. Only Brandon getting cut would have been more surprising. She does get goodbye hugs from Sonja and Nigel.

Now Brandon must dance after losing his best friend, and of course he does a great job. Lil C and Mia though are not impressed, mainly because they heard how impressive he was and he was not living up to the hype during the Vegas round. Well I think it would be hard to live up to all the hype he's gotten. Nigel defends him though, saying he's one of the best they've ever had, but tells him he needs more confidence. But after this brief scare Brandon gets through, but he is still devastated to see Natalie go. I hope he doesn't let this affect his concentration on the show.

The last jazz group includes Gabi, who is more confident going into this round of choreography. I thought she looked pretty good but the judges can barely watch as another of their favorites fails to impress. Though watching it back I compared her to the others doing the same steps she was and I could tell she was not as sharp on the beat as the others. Plus she messed up her foot extension at the end (which I didn't realize was a messup until I saw the other routines) They seem like they have to cut her but will be crushed doing so. I honestly didn't think she was bad at all (shows what I know about dancing) but if she really has had two bad rounds I don 't know how they can keep her. Instead they tell her she must dance for her life for them. Well that is unfair because she'll get through for sure on her unique choreography even though she apparently can't pick up other routines to save her life- which is the whole point of the show. But the judges will take her poor previous routines into account when they decide. The judges of course love her solo, but it still isn't doing it for me- a little too much walking and not enough dancing for me. She does do a cool spin move at the end though. The crowd seems to want her to go through. Mia though still says no, but says she has a great future. Lil C calls it buck and says yes, as do Mary, Adam, and Debbie, and Nigel. So she gets to stay, but with a warning from Nigel. I still didn't think her solo was that good but what do I know.

But 7 others were cut on their jazz routine, including Sammy Ramirez, the red-headed popper. Aww I liked him too. They should have kept him and cut Gabi.

Now the dancers are ready to go to bed, but they are in for a "shock", according to Cat. It's essentially the SYTYCD equivalent of group week- dancers pick groups, pick a CD, and choreograph their own routine. This will show how well the contestants can work with others and how well they can choreograph other routines besides their solo, but I hope there isn't as much focus on the behind the scenes fights as there were during Idol's group week this year.

We pick up the next morning, so I guess there won't be much shots of the nighttime fighting. Nope in fact we get right to the dancing. Why can't Idol be like this. Scratch that- we do get a flashback to Eric "Silky" Moore (one of my faves from Miami) disagreeing with his group members, who all have different styles of dance. Then why did they pair together if they are so different? He should have paired up with other tap dancers or at least hip hop dancers. His group decides to call it a night and practice early the next morning, but Eric is already prepping his "dance for your life" solo. I thought the dancing itself was decent but the choreography was all messy and out of sync. Nigel says they stunk, and Debbie couldn't believe the lack of rhythm. I didn't notice that at all, just the lack of cohesion- they all seemed to be doing their own thing and not working together. I wouldn't be surprised if all five were cut right there, especially after Mia chides them for giving up by going to sleep instead of working hard the night before. I understand them going to bed as long as they worked hard the next morning, but it doesn't seem like they did. A girl named Megan is cut, along with a girl named Erin. Eric though gets to dance for his life! Yey he is still alive. The last girl, Paulie, who cried when Mia yelled at her for going to bed, gets to go right through to the next round.

Another group dances to "My Life Would Suck Without You" and they just look like chickens with their hands on their hips half the time. Adam calls it "Convention 101". Another does basic ballroom moves while one guy dances on his own since they only have five people. I thought the dancing itself wasn't bad but Mia disagreed. A fourth, including the Japanese guy, look like bad backup dancers, and the Japanese guy looks exhausted in his solo towards the end. Nigel calls it the worst routine so far. Ouch!

Brandon is up next and confident in his group. They start out weird in a circle but once they break away into duos they are pretty good. The judges are still not impressed with Brandon though. Nigel says no one stood out as bad, which is true. And, that is good considering the bad groups so far. The whole group gets through, which starts a trend of cool routines. I especially liked one where two guys laid on the floor and jumped over each other.

The last group is Nerdography, led by the whoopie cushion dancer Ryan Kasprzak. He is the brother of Gene Kelly dancer Evan. The beginning is a bit odd with the guys acting all spastic, but they really get together in unison for the rest of the dance. One girl I don't recognize even does a flip and a one-handed handstand. It was very entertaining, and the judges agree. Adam even said it made him miss dancing, causing Nigel to fake cry. The whole group gets through to the next round. 68 dancers move on, so only a few cuts on this day.

Silky Moore must now impress with his solo. He does a good tap routine, though not as impressive as his first audition. Mia says no (she is harsh today). So do Nigel and Debbie. He now must get the next three votes or he is out. Lil C says no, so Silky is out. I liked him, but I agree he lost his fire in his final solo.

It's now time for Mia's tough choreography- especially after the dancers have baked beans for lunch! Tony the comedian showed his versatility throughout the week, but he's nervous for Mia's choreography. He starts out a bit stiff but seems to recover more towards the end. But Mary doesn't agree, telling him to dance for his life. But he will be doing Mia's choreography again. Why didn't they do that for Gabi? A girl named Amanda is cut despite being a judges' favorite. That might be Amanda Kerby, whose dad has MS. I wasn't a big fan of hers anyway, but she promises to be back. Unfortunately one of my favorites, the Japanese guy from NYC, is also shown the door. He also promises to be back.

The Kinney sisters are still around- I liked Megan better even though we only saw glimpses of her audition. Her group is up first, and she starts out shaky but comes back strong towards the end (I think- again I'm a bad judge at these things). She gets through, but is worried about Kaitlin. You can see her ribs when she dances- that's kind of gross. She starts out okay but seems to tire out/forget the choreography at the end. Kaitlin is asked to dance for her life... after the break.

She seems shaken by the news but puts it together enough to do some good spins in her routine, along with a move where she lays on the ground and lifts her feet over her head and then stands back up (it looked cooler than it sounds, I swear). I did hate the fact that she chose "To Make You Feel My Love" not done by Kris Allen as her song- someone else danced to the non-Kris version last week and it annoyed me then too. Song aside, I'm not sure if that routine was enough to get her through. Nigel says she was old-fashioned, and that she needs to update her style to deal with Mia's choreography. He still says yes, as does Debbie, but Mia says no, as do Lil C and Adam. It comes down to Mary, who sees potential in her and says yes, to the delight of her sister.

Now we catch up with Evan and Ryan, another pair of siblings looking to get to the next round. I like Ryan's style better. He seems to be trying in the contemporary routine and it is a bit stiff but still pretty. The judges love it and send him through to the next round. Evan is next and I think he is better than Ryan was at this routine but the judges don't say a word. That could be good or bad. Mia has him do flea hops of the stage before telling him he is safe. Evan is starting to grow on me- I don't like his style but he is great at the other styles too.

This guy Jason is getting a lot of screen time all of a sudden- I bet he makes the top 20.

Tony is back now to try Mia's routine again. He does better this time around, though not as good as Evan before him. He bursts into tears as he faces the judges. Debbie loves his character, and drags out the news before saying he got enough votes to move on. Cat gets a kick out of seeing a grown man cry.

13 dancers were cut in this round, leaving only 54 for the final day.

Yeah those two Asian ballroom dancers are still in the running!! The dancers don't know what's next, but Ryan figures out that it is likely ballroom since he saw Tyce in the elevator. Love those "great deducting skills" as he calls it.

Nigel says there will be one routine for the girls, and one for the guys. And indeed it is a Broadway number, to the delight of Evan and Ryan. Ooh and they are doing West Side Story. The movie is a bit overrated in my opinion, though the dancing will be a great challenge for them.

The girls get right to rehearsal, while the boys relax and do the "lounging lizard" as Ryan puts it. I love him! Plus we get to see the male dancers' great bodies!

The girls are practicing "America". Debbie Allen even played Anita in the show. Wow some pressure for them. Tapper Bianca Revels doesn't seem nervous at all, though she did go through this last year.

She certainly has the sass for the dance, though the dancing doesn't blow me away. Megan and Caitlin seem to struggle a bit, though Oska does well. Priscilla falls at the end of her routine but still keeps a fierce pointed toe.

Now all that's left is the deliberations. Bianca is surprisingly cut, as is Alexie, another early favorite of mine. Boy they are dropping like flies tonight, though not as many of my Idol favorites. Bianca says she will not come back next year, though maybe she'll change her mind.

More brutal cuts: Gabi Rojas, Priscilla, and Megan Kinney are all sent home. Sad to lose Megan, but don't mind losing the other two.

The remaining girls are in the top 16 females, including Caitlin Kinney and Oska, and a bunch of others I don't recognize.

Now it's the boys' turn to learn their routine to "Cool". Evan and Ryan, the "Broadway Brothers" as they call themselves, are in the first group. Both groups looked great- I don't know how the judges will choose who to cut.

First to the stage is a group of names I don't recognize. all of whom are cut. So both Evan and Ryan, along with Ricky the Asian ballroom dancer, and Brandon, are all in the top 16, along with Phillip Chbeeb.

They now must prep their final solos with the girls. Tony is also still in the running, with his Nigel photos and all. We only get a brief glimpse of the solos, but they almost all seem really good to me.

First to face the judges is Janette a salsa dancer who impressed me in the Miami auditions and with the brief glimpse we got of her solo. But since there are two minutes left I'm guessing the episode will end before we find out if she made it or not.

Sure enough, tomorrow night we will find out the results. It looks like Evan and Ryan will be onstage together- is only one of them going to make the finals? That would stink since both are talented. Anyway we'll find out tomorrow night.

Any thoughts on tonight's show? Post your comments below.