Last night on So You Think You Can Dance season 9 we saw the auditions held in Atlanta, GA. As long-term fans know, ast year’s SYTYCD winner, Melanie Moore, auditioned there. And this time around HOTLANTA definitely lived up to Moore’s stunning audition of last year. There were so many amazing “OMG” performances that I watched several of them twice. Here are the ones that really caught my eye…

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A quick note, first: As readers know, I’m still pretty new to this phenomenal show, but I can tell you that one of the reasons I love it so much is that there is so much support and positivity between the dancers and from the judges. That’s not the vibe a lot of other reality TV competitions have given me.

Tim Conkel – This “Wolf Man” was a true performer. He wanted to keep Selena Gomez close to him, so he brought his backpack that had her face on it. He said he wants to be America’s Favorite Person. I think he might just win us over!

Danielle Dominguez – With a figure like hers, you’d never guess that she eats tons of bacon every day. They said her dancing was a bit weird, but in a good way. Vegas.

Courtney Kirby – Her Grandma had been a dancer, and Courtney’s dance teacher. This was a sassy lady! Courtney didn’t seem to have any sass (liven up!), but she did have the dancing skills to get to Vegas.

 

Asher Walker – He was a mystery, this one. He dressed a bit like a (preppy) hipster, he lives in a redneck town, and he loves Justin Bieber. You might think he would have passed by without garnering attention, but his performance was so comedic and fun that he really stood out for me. I think Justin Bieber should completely take him on board for his tour!

George Lawrence II – With a mustache I wish he’d shave off, this dancer camee to us with a backstory about how his Dad was not incredibly supportive of his dancing. (But had been very supportive of his former sports.) It’s too bad, because George was amazing. Nigel said he would be proud to have him as a son.

Brittany Ortner – She comes to us from Oviedo Florida And what’s special about that place aside from having a name that sounds like “Olive”? They have chickens that roam the town! I am so into that! Apparently they are protected, so no one can harm them. I’ve heard of random towns that have penguins that roam. I’d worry about people running over the chickens. And, ironically, Brittany says they hang out a lot near the fast food chicken place Popeye’s. Geez Louise. But they were so cute, especially one of the black chickens with these big stomping feet covered in so many feathers it looked like he was wearing fluffy UGGS. Anyway… what can we say about Brittany? She seemed a bit goofy, in an endearing way. She’s got a phenomenal figure and gorgeous face. Her dancing was strong, and she made it to choreo and then Vegas!

Damon Bellmon and Deon Lewis – So, here was a bit of controversy! Apparently last year they performed chorography from Les Twins. But the show didn’t air the part of their interview where they acknowledge it was an homage. Instead, people thought they were ripping off the routine. And I felt so bad, because the guys said they still get lots of hate (e)mail! I didn’t think they were that great, and in the end (after choreography) it was just Deon who made it to Vegas.

Also great: Audrey Case, Joshua Alexander, Jackson Alvarez (the wobble teaacher), Janelle Issis (belly dancer), Boris Penton (my favorite of the Dragon Boys because of his unusual classical song choice), Andrew Rucker, Cyrus Spencer (charisma!).

Next week on SYTYCD are the Salt Lake City auditions. The guest judge will be Adam Shankman. Can’t wait to see what he’s all about!

Check out what So You Think You Can Dance recap writer Melissa Miller thought about those crazy chickens.

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