The big angle for the next dancer (Kent) is that he's from Wapakoneta, OH which is a small town. He's going to college in New York next year. He has very pleasing leaps and spins. And a tumbling run. Sure, but can he do the move where he reaches out in front of him longingly before he pulls it in to his stomach? There's some talk about how hard it is to pronounce "Wapokoneta," and Kent is the subject of light-hearted mockery for thinking that Columbus is a big city. Hey, he's in Chicago right now. That doesn't count as traveling to a big city? Everyone likes him a lot, although Adam wants a little more connection to the music. Choreography. By the way, the judges are always unanimous now. Just thought I'd mention it.
The next dancer, Andrew Phillips, has brought along his twin brother, who is in a wheelchair due to spina bifida. What am I supposed to say about this? It's all terribly sad. During Andrew's dance, I notice that the Palace Theater has left some cleaning supplies on the stage. I guess that's probably on purpose? Maybe to make it feel like an audition? Oh, and the song is "You're the Reason I Come Home" and is punctuated with reaction shots of Andrew's brother. I don't have much to say about the dance itself. Andrew covers the spina bifida again and Nigel tells him he must dance every day of his life. Adam says that he has been inspired. Nigel feels that there's more to Andrew to learn. Andrew gets sent to choreography, although the judges think he might not go through this year.
It's time for people to experiment with things like "head hops" (bouncing around on your head with no hands) and "comtep-tang" (contemporary, but with tango). Oh, wait! No, it's time for a joke audition. A woman with frizzy hair and a leather vest has something called "hick-hop", which combines breakdancing and line dancing. She is, of course, terrible. At times like this, the only question is whether she's deluded or doing it on purpose? But I don't care. Next!
There are also some other people who can't dance. Sorry, guys. I'm sure some of you aren't delusional loons.
The last competitor has a long, muscular neck. It's kind of freaking me out. It's Adrian Lee, and it's another of these contemporary routines where I'm reliant on the judges to tell me if it's being done well. Stacey says it was the best contemporary routine of the day. Thanks, Stacey! So he's good, then. She kept thinking "Oh, what could I create on this one?" That's a little weird. Adam likes that he never heard Adrian come down from his jumps, which is something he praised someone for last week. And he also watches for people falling out their pirouettes. Nigel wants Adrian to "move on" and there is an excruciatingly long pause while none of them can figure out a dopey way to transition into "You're going to Vegas!" and they finally just hand him the ticket.













Comments