'So You Think You Can Dance': Jean Lloret rocks the Boston auditions

This week "So You Can Dance" season 6 auditions continue in Boston, with a talented group of dancers in a refreshing range of styles. (What's that? There were some ridiculous auditions, too? Lalalalala, I can't hear you, I can't hear you, lalalalala...) Tyce Diorio joins us as a guest judge, and he's quite pleasantly harsher than expected.

The Vegas-bound:

Teddy Tedholm/18/Contemporary - We saw this audition previewed last season, right? Because otherwise I'm pretty disturbed that I find argyle golf pants and a bow tie familiar. Teddy's style is very "quirky," as he puts it, with lots of quick and jerky, yet somehow also fluid movements. And...I kind of love it. Hurrah for something different, when "different" doesn't also mean "comically terrible." Mary finds it both crazy and brilliant. Crazy brilliant.

Jean Lloret/22/Breakdancing - Yeah, this dude is insane. He basically does a semi-handstand and rotates his lower body over himself in slow motion. Plus the usual spinny awesomeness. It's almost as if he's a gymnast, and the stage is his pommel horse. The judges freak out and bust out the Vegas tickets with no commentary whatsoever. At first I wondered why they didn't send him to choreography to confirm he can dance other styles, but I suppose they don't send the great contemporary dancers to choreography to confirm they can adapt, either, so fair enough. 

Channing Cooke/18/Contemporary - Channing is an adorable ball of energy, and she can rock a back handspring like nobody's business. Her audition is solid, even if it isn't that exciting to me, and I do like that she keeps low to the ground for much of it rather than just trying to dazzle us with a bunch of leaps. Nigel and Mary are into her, but Tyce (and I) think she could ramp up the passion a bit.

Russell Ferguson/19/Krump - It's pretty awesome, you guys. Russell's face shows tons of expression, and he doesn't fade at all during his audition despite the enormous amount of physical and emotional energy it must take to sustain that much violent movement. Nigel finds individual krumping to be one-dimensional, but Russell is trained in other styles as well, and gets sent to choreography and Vegas. I hope he makes the Top 20!

Karen and Matthew Hauer/27/Ballroom - Ooooh, a married couple! That definitely adds a layer of drama. And they certainly aren't afraid to make their very dynamic routine sexual. Mary, of course, thinks Karen is a hot tamale, and that they can dance besides. I'm a little annoyed by the overt flirting with the camera (see: Melissa, last season), but intrigued to see how they do with other partners.

Gene Bersten/21/Ballroom - Okay, I just can't take Gene's dancing seriously at all after watching his crazy wannabe-Lothario, chest hair-exposing interview. Which is a shame, since he's actually not bad at all. But then, I'm a sucker for a twirling jump. Mary, hilariously, calls him out on his overly expressive eyebrows. But, they dig his moves and send him to choreography and ultimately Vegas.

Kevin Hunte/23/Hip hop - Kevin auditioned in season 3 and didn't make it. He shows up and hits it hard this year, but doesn't kill it. Mary feels that he's grown since they've seen him last, but that the bar has also been raised since then. Tyce rips his audition choices apart before saying that he was great and voting for him. Oh, Tyce. Always keeping me guessing. 

The Rest:

Ryan Casey/18/Tap - Ryan, 6'8" (!), dwarfs Cat and has the biggest tap shoes EVER. Seriously, it's like he's tapping in a pair of canoes with hubcaps nailed to the bottom. I like that he taps to hip hop, but Ryan lacks the "surprisingly graceful tall guy" thing that Tommy Tune had going for him. The judges send him to choreography, respecting the Year of the Tapper, but that's as far as Ryan gets.

Fabrizio Jenkins/26/Popper - Okay, what's going on here? This guy is basically terrible, and yet Nigel and Mary vote to send him through to choreography? He doesn't hit hard at all, his routine is basically lame, and he FALLS in the middle of it! I mean, I get that he's got a good personality and is somewhat entertaining, but the show isn't called "So You Think You Can Entertain," is it? Unfortunately (or not), he injured an ankle during his fall and has to drop out during choreography.

Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers to the number of non-contemporary dancers. Jeers to the 46-year-old guy who subjected all of us to seeing his package on full display in those man tights (and subjected us to his "dancing"). Cheers to the lack of sob stories and the focus on dancing (and on scooping ice cream).

We saw some serious talent this week. Did anyone stand out to you as Top 20 material? Did the East Coast, in fact, represent?

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