Season 5 - So You Think You Can Dance Las Vegas Auditions - Top 20 Revealed!

Bella and I sat down each equipped with a generous bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream to watch the season 5 SYTYCD Las Vegas Auditions! (You all remember Bella. Refer to the previous SYTYCD post).

And what a rollercoaster ride it was! Though there were definitely more downs than ups on this ride. Forget the performers’ tears.; we were weeping up a storm by the end. Thankfully, we had ice cream to ease our pain.

By the way, we are going to try something different this post – a stream of consciousness approach, if you will (blame it on the heat; I am). It will be as if you were sitting on the couch beside us watching the show. And if you don’t like it…you can just lump it as I am not rewriting this. Suffice it to say that it seemed like a good idea when I started…

Anyway, the show started with the judges taking their seats, and Bella and I immediately start in on the judges.

Me: “Do you think Mary has had some botox?”

Bella: “She looks like she’s been stung by a bee.”

Hey, it’s only fair, you should have heard what the judges were saying about the contestants. Some of their comments were so harsh. Here are some:

“I have not been impressed.”

“I’m not a fan. I’ve heard how brilliant you are, but I have not seen it.”

“It’s clear that you guys can’t work together.”

“Barf!”

“Congratulations, that was the worst performance we’ve seen all night.”

“We love you as a person, but…”

And these were merely the tip of the iceberg. The dancers at this audition were just wreathed in tears, Gabi Rojas included. The entire show basically revolved around her and how disappointed the judges were with her performance. Gabi first appeared during the Brooklyn auditions. She’s a beautiful dancer that grew up in a circus doing acrobatics; she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis though you wouldn’t know it from the way she performs. The judges were thoroughly impressed…in Brooklyn. Nigel even remarked that this was the best audition he had seen in five years. She commanded the stage and took control of the music through her movement. A true performer, with great technique to boot. Unfortunately for Gabi, that kind of evaporated away in Vegas. (Maybe it was also the heat?) Anyway, here’s what happened after she had danced for her life:

Judge Debbie Allen: “Such a disappointment at this moment. Where was that [during your audition]? Thank you for reminding us who you really are. Now remind yourself.”

Me: “Cheesy.”

Bella’s boyfriend weighs in: “She just needs some better coreygraphy.”

If I had a quarter for every time that word was miss-pronounced…but let’s move on, shall we?

Enter Tapper Eric “Silky” Moore as he dances for his life.

Me: “That’s it?”

Me: “But it was so short. He totally gave up.”

Silky Moore gets cut.

Bella: “Ahh, but i liked him. So great now who’s left?”

The camera focuses on Bianca Revels. And then she also gets cut.

Bella: “She looks like Fantasia from American Idol”

Me: “Or Tootie from Facts of Life.”

Enter the Kasprzak brothers, Ryan and Evan, and the judges continued gushing about how adorable they are. They are kind of hard to forget. They specialize in older Broadway style and are inseparable. Ryan is the older of the two and choreographed Evan’s routine. His claim to fame is using a woopie cushion as a prop in his routine (yeah, I know, I know), wearing a bow tie and in his words, doesn’t fit into the typical dancer mold; he’s short, bald and a nerd.

Bella weighs in on Ryan: “He’s a sweater. He talks a lot and sweats a lot.”

Me: “I bet you the last male spot on the Top 20 will be between these two for the added TV drama because they are brothers.”

And surprise, surprise, the final spot for the guys is…between Ryan and Evan Kasprzak. The tension rises.

Me “They are going to take the younger guy, he’s a better dancer.”

Me: “Yah, him.”

Evan makes the cut and Ryan is sent home.

So here’s the Top 20 for this year:

Imagine all the girls,
Ah ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.
(Sorry I’ve got that Ting Tings song stuck in my head. Check it out here)

Randi Evans
Dance Specialty: Jazz
Hometown: Orem, UT
Age: 23

Don’t remember her at all but I guess she’s good given that she made the Top 20.

Karla Garcia
Dance Specialty: Jazz/Contemporary
Hometown: Oxon Hill, MD
Age: 23

Your guess is as good as mine.

Caitlin Kinney
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
Age: 21

Her sister also auditioned but didn’t make it this far. Caitlin was able to wow the judges even though they called her dancing too old fashioned

Asuka Kondoh
Dance Specialty: Latin Ballroom
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Age: 25

Aka Oscar the Grouch. I’m not a fan. She looks like she would stab you in the back with her ballroom stilettos if you turned your back for a second.

Janette Manrara
Dance Specialty: Salsa
Hometown: Miami, FL
Age: 25

She recently got in a car accident and her boyfriend of 4 years broke up with her. Making it to the Top 20 made her day/week/month/year!

Jeanine Mason
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Miami, FL
Age: 18

Kayla Radomski
Dance Specialty: Jazz/Contemporary
Hometown: Aurora, CO
Age: 18

Melissa Sandvig
Dance Specialty: Ballet
Hometown: Los Alamitos, CA
Age: 29

Paris Torres
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Issaquah, WA
Age: 19

Ashley Valerio
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Mesa, AZ
Age: 22

And the boys,
Ah ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

Kupono Aweau
Dance Specialty: Lyrical/Contemporary
Hometown: Honolulu, HI
Age: 23

He looks so much better now that he’s gotten his hair cut, I almost didn’t recognize him. He was able to check off ‘Make it on the Top 20” from his daily ‘to do’ list. Nicely done.

Tony Bellissimo
Dance Specialty: Hip Hop
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Age: 20

Brandon Bryant
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Miami, FL
Age: 19

Mia’s enemy du jour. She’s definitely got a ‘hate on’ for Brandon. She sparked quite the debate between the judges, with Mary threatening to walk off. I have to agree with Mia. There’s something about him that I just don’t like. Time will tell.

Phillip (Spaghetti Arms) Chbeeb
Dance Specialty: Popping
Hometown: Houston, TX
Age: 20

“Any bets as to how long before he ‘pops’ off? Again?

Jason Glover
Dance Specialty: Lyrical/Contemporary
Hometown: Fresno, CA
Age: 21

He looks very familiar but I don’t remember him from the auditions…

Vitolio Jeune
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Pétionville, Haiti
Age: 26

He’s from Haiti. His mother died when he was five and his grandmother took him in. Unfortunately his grandmother could no longer support him so she gave him to an orphanage. He’s been on his own since he was 15, and started dancing on the streets for money. He’s someone that truly deserves a chance like this. I wish him well.

Max Kapitannikov
Dance Specialty: Latin Ballroom
Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Age: 26

Evan Kasprzak
Dance Specialty: Broadway
Hometown: West Bloomfield, MI
Age: 21

Ade Obayomi
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Chandler, AZ
Age: 20

Jonathan Platero
Dance Specialty: Salsa
Hometown: Sanford, FL
Age: 21

Me: “What do you think, Bella? I don’t particularly like any of them.”