By Dolce Fisher and Paul Ransom
Sydney
This year the first round of auditions were held at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay with those who were lucky enough to move onto solo auditions, performing at the Hills Centre.
With a new location, this year’s turn out seemed a lot smaller than last year. Maybe the people just desperate to be on television had given up or been scared off after Season 1, or the serious dancers have become less interested in wanting to chase the title of Australia’s favourite dancer? Or maybe dancers now realise the intensity of the competition, and the less serious or confident were too scared to give it a go this year? I am not sure, but either way, there was a distinct drop in numbers. This, however, may have no effect on the quality of the Top twenty, as we just need twenty standout talents.
As with last year, there were many dancers who were extremely talented, as well as those with a false sense of their dance ability, or lack of. There seemed to be many more urban/street style dancers, with some great B Boys and Poppers coming to the auditions. This should make for great television, but as we know the self taught/untrained dancers always have to work a little harder to get further in the competition, generally struggling with other styles of dance.
Over the weekend people went through in groups of ten to audition in front of a panel, just as they did last year. If selected, dancers were either asked to do a round of choreography with Jet of Sydney’s Urban Dance Centre, or if exceptional, moved straight onto the solo auditions held the following week.
A lack of good audition dress sense seemed to let many dancers down in the solo auditions, annoying the judges. There were many contemporary/lyrical dancers that turned up in extremely baggy clothing, hiding their figures and lines. This seems to be a trend in dance class but isn’t a good choice for an audition. Jason Coleman was obviously irritated, commenting “it spoils and hides the line of the body”.
From viewing the solos auditions I do have to say that Jason Coleman seems to be the most honest judge amongst the three. Without being rude, but just very blunt, he would comment on all the things I was already thinking. With the pressure of the auditions Jason’s honesty often made people break down, but his comments were things that the dancers needed to hear and if taken in the right attitude, would help them be become better dancers. For me, Bonnie Lythgoe’s comments were generally too long and I was often waiting for her to get to the point. She is very encouraging, which is great, but I found that sometimes she would sugar coat her comments too much. Matt Lee is somewhere in between Jason and Bonnie. Sometimes it seemed he was struggling to find something to say, just rambling on and then at other times he would give really constructive and honest statements, which were well warranted.
Overall, the process was much the same as last year, with many nervous dancers doing their thing for the judges. There were definitely some stand out talents and I eagerly wait to see which dancers make it onto the television screen and into our houses early next year! Isn’t it nice to watch dance at least twice a week in our living rooms!
Melbourne
The eager, adrenalised line-up outside Melbourne's Princess Theatre proved once more that plenty of people think they can dance. And as it happens, most of them could. The only issue was that the producers of So You Think You Can Dance arrived at the auditions with a very clear idea of what they know works well on TV and the largely dance/ballet school trained hopefuls were nowhere near the pre-determined mark. Grace, balance and intricacy don't necessarily translate into the clap-along energetics required to keep a small screen audience from switching channels.
Thus it was that a hundred plus dancers were cut after their twenty second solo and only a small handful of the better looking ones with a funkier edge to their moves made it over the first line in the sand. If anything the process seemed to favour the more muscular approach of the boys.
But this is not to criticise. TV is business, and no one is going to foot the bill for a show like SYTYCD unless it rates. Far from being merely cruel, the judges were very upfront and consistent. They knew their formula, even if the hopefuls didn't.
The Melbourne auditions, which featured a one off choreography session with choreographic genius Wade Robson for those lucky enough to get call backs, were once again a success. Melbourne is after all called the "dance hub of Australia".
Hopefully this season will set a new standard. The first season was a ratings winner and was very entertaining, but I feel the level of dancing and choreography at times could have been much higher. However, for this season I am looking forward to the dancers and producers stepping up to a new level. We must remember that the first US season of So You Think wasn’t even aired in Australia!
I trust that the mis-mash of dance styles such as Swap (Swing & Hip Hop) used in Season 1, that were not received well by the dance educated, will be laid to rest with one |
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