When our show opened this week, we find the first hour to be the Atlanta auditions all over again. It was the exact same show as last Thursday, so I will let last Thursday's review stand and if you want to read it, you can.
Now, onto Vegas. 190 dancers made it through to the Las Vegas round. During this round, the dancers learned a routine taught by one of the judges. They then danced in groups of 10. After they performed, the judges would vote on each dancer. Three or more yes votes and the dancer went to the next round. A split vote (2 yes and 2 no) would mean that the dancer would have to perform a solo, aka "dance for your life", to stay in the competiion. If the performer got less than 2 yes votes, they went home.
Our judges for this round are Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Shane Sparks and Mia Michaels, who is a contemporary choreographer and dancer.
Shane Sparks taught the dancers a hip hop routine. Most of the dancers were confident of the routine except for Olivia Usey. She has only been back in dancing for three years and but it doesn't matter because she flies into the next round. Right off the bat, the judges send home 62 dancers which include Miles, the former football player, and the dance teacher and her student. (Sorry for not having the names, they were not labeled on the TV or in the closed captioning!) Our cute Lindy couple, Michael and Eva are sent to the "dance for your life" round to which they were safe.
Round 2 on Day 1 was the Samba taught by Mary Murphy. She told the dancers that this is a joyous, light-hearted dance. The couples were put together by the producers and Mary's partner was the hot Dimitri from last season.
Two couples were featured during this round. The first couple was Kailyn Gray and Jay Gamlin, neither of which dance ballroom. The other couple was Janet Bombard, the amputee and Pasha Kovalev, a Russian ballroom dancer. Janet and Pasha breeze through this round, while Kailyn and Jay struggled. Jay is sent home, but Kailyn is sent through. Jay was not a happy camper that his partner made it and he didn't.
At the end of Day 1, 91 people have been sent home.
Day 2 opens with Nigel telling the group that today was going be their toughest routine. Mia Michaels taught a comtemporary routine and the dancers agreed it was the most challenging of the routines.
Once again, the Lindy couple were in the first group, and this time they did not fair as well. Michael was sent home, but once again Eva was going to "dance for her life" at the end of the round. She was able to dance with Michael, even though he had already been eliminated, but it didn't do any good. She was sent packing as well.
Also in the the "dancing for your life" round were Hok, Jamaal, Dtrix, and Twitch. These breakdancers/hip hop dancers knew they had to pull out all the stop, which worked for all of them, except for Jamaal. He is heading home. We also go to see a new guy, Ricky, who Mia absolutly loved. He was awesome at the routine, but had been "flying under the radar" up until now.
As the contemporary round was ending, the remaining 63 dancers were suprised when they were told that the producers had put them into 15 groups where they would have to choreograph a routine and perform it starting at 7:00am the next day. They chose their music from a box and went to work.
At 7:00am, Day 3 started with Lauren Gottlieb, Kevin Hunt (both Hip Hop dancers), Hannah Lee(the dancer that fell through the floor and lived), Olivia Usey, and Dallas Blagg (a ballet dancer) in a group dancing to hip hop music. Hannah sprained her ankle and was struggling a bit with the routine and was sent to the "dance for your life" round, where the judges ended up sending her home.
In another group that was dancing contemporary, Faina Savich, Jaime Goodwin, and Collette Williams all got the go ahead, while Michael Pasante was sent home.
And in the final group that was showcased, Jessie, the baby oil dancer from audition rounds unzipped herself out of a suitcase. That was not enough to save the dancers and all had to "dance for their life". Jessie and one other guy from her group made it to the final round.
At the end of Day 3, the remaining dancers were going to get a chance to dance a solo dance of their choice for the judges. The judges will not critique it, but will go away and make the decision of who the Top 10 girls and Top 10 boys will be competing for the $250,000. Results will be announced tomorrow night.
Thanks for the recap Shelly. So much happened at Vegas week that I think they should have spent a little more time on it, but OH well...now we get to the good stuff!
Does anyone remember the little (blond I think) girl from last year that got hurt during Vegas week that Nigel said she had a free pass to the same spot this year? I don't recall her being mentioned at all this year.
I remember her Mylile! They have not mentioned her at this point, so I don't know if she hasn't come back, or if she's already been cut. There were several folks that had time spent on them in the audition round that we haven't seen yet. Remember hicup guy and winking girl? And the other Jessica Simpson? And Janet Bombard was shown making it through the ballroom dancing round, but we don't know if she went on. I assume she did, but you know what that makes me?!
I am begining to think that they showcase some of the dancers that they like, but don't make it to the top so that they get exposure and that something else will come along for them. (ie the Lindy couple) I also think they are pushing Olivia Usey. If she makes it to the top 20, my guess is that she is the producers favorite.
If you can't be a good example, then be a horrible warning!
Hey there! I enjoyed the review, but I was wondering - do you know what song was used during the hip-hop routine that Shane Sparks taught the contestants during the first round in Las Vegas? I've had it in my head since yesterday, and I'm trying to find out what it is!! One of the lyrics sounded like "don't let it get me down," or something to that effect.
Thanks so much in advance for your help!
~ CLH
Hi there! What a great summary of the Vegas auditions! I was wondering if anyone knows the song used in the hip hop dance number where hannah lee was dancing in with a group of 5?
does anyone know the name of the song from vegas call backs (this episode) where The group of Olivia, Dallas, Lauren, Hannah and Kevin do their group number? it's a hip hop song, but i can't figure out the name of the song or the artist.
