Premierewatch: 'So You Think You Can Dance'

I've been waiting for this day for what feels like forever. It's the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance. I'm so excited and I just can't hide it. Over/under on high-pitched squeals from Mary Murphy during the prelim rounds: 22.

The auditions start in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theater. Nigel, Mary and Emmy Award winner Mia Michaels are the judges. As host Cat Deely runs down the process over a montage of images, I see that Season 2 finalist Travis is doing the "stick around" choreography. Sweet.

Immediate Tickets to Vegas:
Devin Oshiro/18/Diamond Bar, CA/Contemporary -  She went first and they played the wrong music, poor thing. But once Devin danced, it was fantastic. Nothing but raves from the judges. She's definitely one to watch.

Stephen Boss aka Twitch/25/Montgomery, AL/Locker - He's going for a different approach this year, wanting to be a little more serious and throw in some new stuff. Before he dances, Nigel tells him that if he doesn't make it through Vegas this year he's going to "kick [his]ass." But no pressure. Mia says that he's so good, he gets her "Stank Face." I love Mia.

Erika Gee/22/New York, NY/Contemporary - Dancing on Day 2, this is her third time auditioning and really wants to make it through this time. She breaks down in tears when she gets positive remarks from all the judges who enjoyed her being herself instead of mixing in 14 different styles all willy nilly. Like the other two times, she gets her ticket.

Leonidas Proskurov, 23 & Aliona Ventrunko, 24/Northridge, CA/Ballroom - Our first Ballroom couple, they're also a real life couple and earn Mary's first "Woo!". Their technique, personality and chemistry was on point and Nigel was all about Aliona's legs.

Kherington Payne/18/Placentia, CA/Contemporary - She's great technique-wise and Dominic (who stopped by on Day 2 with Hok and some other breaking alums) was mooning over her while she was performing, which Nigel was kind enough to point out. All three judges agreed she has an "it factor."

Robert Muraine/20/Los Angeles, CA/Popping - He partially describes what he does as "twisted and weird." It was like watching Plastic Man dance. He's insane and has the longest audition of anyone. Nigel says he's officially his favorite dancer and, regardless of whether Robert works for the show, he definitely deserves to get more work. Mia says she's waiting for him to "unzip his outerwear" and be an alien. And when he goes to get his ticket from Nigel, he reaches for it in slow motion, hugging him fist. Which Nigel plays along with. Nigel even does a booty jiggle. Hilarious.

Standouts:
Jonathan Anzalone, 21/Italy - AKA Euro Joey Lawrence. He's a piece of work - he stripped completely for the stationary dance camera and flirts with Cat. He did a lot of walking and preening but not a lot of dancing during his audition (very Michael Jackson-esque but not in a good way). It was like the worst male stripper routine ever. The only good thing he did were some air spins at the end. After being chastised for his weak-sauce routine and arrogance, Nigel, Mary and Mia decide there's enough potential for him to stick around. He doesn't make it through though.

Laura Garcia/23/Tuscon, AZ/Contemporary - Laura is visually impaired and talks about how much this audition means to her. Her technique is pretty solid but not strong enough for the competition. All the judges make she knows that their decision not to move her on is based solely on that fact. When it Mia's turn, she's crying because she has a friend that's a dancer who lost their sight so watching Laura really affected her. She tells Laura that she has the potential to be a great artist in the future.

Irina Korenkov-Eller/46/Russia - It not so much that she was a great dancer, because she wasn't, it was what she said when talking to the judges. Nigel mentioned that her former husband would get on the phone and try and get her back when seeing this on TV. Irina says she would never go back, that she left him with a $500,000 house just so she could be free and look for happiness. As one male dancer shouted out, "That's right! Be free, girl!" She has such a great energy.

Phillip Chbeeb/19/Los Angeles, CA/Locker - Being cut in Vegas last year was a wake-up call for Phillip. Armed with a more diversified skill set, he was just as sick as ever. He did this one move where he looked like a bobble-head doll. Crazy. But he needs to prove he can do other choreography. Which he can, thankfully. He's through.

William B. Wingfield/21/Nashville, TN/Contemporary - He's been traveling all over the place and decided to audition to really test his abilities as an artist. William performed to spoken word and it was impressive, a beautiful piece. Nigel isn't sure if it was there was enough dancing in the audition (lots of "clever stuff") but thought it was really good. Mia agrees while Mary would have liked it to be longer. So, he gets to stick around for another go and it proves fruitful. He's got a ticket to Vegas.

Victor Kim/21/Irvine, CA/Breaker - He was awesome. Crazy handstand variations and tricks, great personality and just rad overall. But they need to see if he can do choreography. Unfortunately, he did not make it through.

Ricky Sun, 27, Arcadia, CA  & Asuka Kondoh, 24, Irvine, CA/Ballroom - I think they're the most adorable couple I've ever seen on the show. I just want to hug them. Asuka is sick and hoping she doesn't pass out onstage while Ricky jokes that he coerced her into auditioning. And they're very good. Nigel was "delighted" watching them. Surprisingly they've only been dancing together for 3 months. Also surprising is that they'll be sticking around because Nigel wants to see how they work with other partners. Unfortunately Asuka's even more rundown than before but she preservers and they both make it to Vegas.

Oddballs:
Sex is back. This is his third time on. And he's still terrible. Cat talks with him and he says he'd done well the last two times he tried (which the archive footage refutes) and has no answer when she asks why he's tried again. The judges remember him and are expectantly blunt when they tell him that he's no good. Nigel calls him out for just wanting to appear on TV and refuses to call him "Sex" anymore - his name id David. But, as most delusional are, David is still adamant that he'll be a success.

Rijiy Ames/24/Fremont, CA/Contemporary - The last contestant of Day 1, he decided to dance in his underwear. Seriously. Tidy whites. Poor Rijiy. He was dead serious in his routine but, as Nigel points out, it's hard to concentrate on the dancing when it's done in man-panties. He did it to symbolize the clean-slate/molding that goes on during the season. Thank goodness for Mia who gets what he was trying to do but reiterates that there are better costume choices for that sort of thing. It's not like he was terrible, just a little too artistic for his own good.

Assorted Other Bits:

• The way Mia watches routines is totally different than other people. Even when they're really bad or out there, she still studies them seriously.
• Thirty dancers in total got tickets to Vegas.
• A new random bit of cross-promotion involves people doing their happy dances on behalf of Snuggle, with the bear dancing in the corner of the screen. Which is sort of disconcerting.
• One thing I am thankful about is that the bad/odd auditions are kept to a minimum. Seeing people embarrass themselves makes me uncomfortable.

How happy are we that the show is back? Did you spot any true contenders from this lot? I was surprised they aired so few breakers and ballroom dancers. And do you like seeing the awful people or would you prefer they were skipped all together?

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