Baby b-boys, Nigerian princesses, and a star ballerina–the second episode of Season 16 of SYTYCD was full of surprises. The dancers taking the stage for week 2 came from all over the world for a chance to show off their moves on stage and hopefully continue their journey toward becoming America’s Favorite Dancer.
First up was Sumi Oshima, a pop and locker whose “bad girl” past had the judges in a tizzy before she began showing off her impeccable control and style. We’ll see you in The Academy, Sumi!
Following Sumi was contemporary dancer Caroline De La Rocha, and while Caroline didn’t quite make it with her performance, she earned her ticket to The Academy after winning over the judges with her will to fight.
Next up was a b-boy with an adorable partner. Samuel Sweetser started dancing in his garage as a kid, but now he and his family live dance, passing on their passion to their two small sons. While it was no surprise that Samuel received a ticket to The Academy, we thought Koa, his two-year-old b-boy in the making, might become a SYTYCD star himself after he showed off his freestyle skills.
It wouldn’t be auditions without at least one stand out story, and we don’t mean a person’s backstory. For her audition, contemporary dancer Gianna Newborg decided to dance out an emotional kidnapping escape (apparently she and her mom are huge true crime fanatics). While the idea was dar, she proved herself a bright and talented dancer and is now Academy-bound.
Nazz Slydryan and Stefen Yeritzyan auditioned together with a cha-cha. While this audition was their first official dance together (and the two have only been dancing together for two months!), their chemistry was out of this world, and Mary pulled out tickets for the Hot Tamale train for this duo (and for The Academy, of course).
Of all the things we never expected to see on SYTCYD, Korra Obidi Dean is probably two of them. An actual princess (!) and a dancer set on auditioning pregnant, there’s no way we’ll be forgetting her. She didn’t make it through to The Academy, but we’re already crossing our fingers that we will see her in Season 17.
Last to audition this week were Kaeli Ware and Brandon Talbott. You might recognize Kaeli from Dance Moms. A 5’11” contemporary ballerina, Kaeli’s extensions or stunning, and with Brandon’s pirouettes going on for days alongside her, it’s no surprise that these two are on their way to The Academy.
With this much excitement packed into one episode of auditions, we’re going to need the rest of the week to prepare ourselves for episode three.
