Heating up the desert on “So You Think You Can Dance”

It was HOT, HOT, HOT, in the Valley of the Sun as tryouts for “So You Think You Can Dance” came to Phoenix, Arizona. The heat didn’t seem to bother the dancers though as they stood in the long lines over the two days for their once in a lifetime shot at competing for the title of America’s favorite dancer.

First up on day one was Shorty and Biggie whose hip-hop routine didn’t really wow the judges, though they did find it entertaining. It was contemporary dancer Sasha Mallory, who had auditioned previously for Season 4, who won the judges over and was put straight through to Vegas. Day one also featured some inspiring stories, including Allison Becker, who was hearing impaired from having spinal meningitis at only sixteen months old, but who dances by “feeling the music.” When Nigel asked her how she would do if they sent her on to choreography, her face lit up and she simply said, “I’ll be great!” Same-sex ballroom couple Willem de Vries and Jacob Jason performed an amazing latin routine that had Mia Michaels telling them that she celebrated the courage they showed while dancing and Nigel saying that they showed a lot of strength in their dancing. They were also sent on to choreography, and at the end of the day, all three of these dancers were given a ticket to Vegas.

Mary Murphy had stated that what she liked about the Phoenix auditions was that it was a nice mixture of dancers, but she changed her mind some on day two when things in Phoenix got weird, really weird. Nigel was heard asking the questions, “How close are we to Roswell?” and, “Has an alien ship landed?” One contestant, #44043, the eighteen-year-old Jarvis Johnson, was so hyper and consistently yelling, screaming and talking so fast that no one could understand him. He somehow was sent through to choreography, but actually had to have the paramedics check him out after he collapsed because he thought he was having a heart attack. Needless to say he did not make it through. The weirdness continued when contestant Kelsey came on stage. Nigel asked her if she had ever had an alien abduct her and her response was, “Just one time.” Nigel politely got out of his seat and walked offstage. Instead of critiquing her dance though, you could hear him calling out from the wings over and over again, “On to choreography.”

FOX 10′s own Alexis DelChiaro, a morning anchor in Phoenix, tried out for her second time. Two years ago she danced to “Yankee Doodle Dandy” with no success and this year it was to “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” but it was just not in the cards for her. Nigel told her that “Flashdance” didn’t work for her and she was not strong enough, but Mary said that she was “awfully spunky.” The judges encouraged her to come back and try out again next year, that she had the personality but just needed to get stronger in regard to dance. I am pretty certain this was all just in fun though.

Stealing the entire two days of the auditions though was breakdancer Jonathan “Legacy” Perez who amazed the judges with his incredibly solid and original routine that Mia Michaels summed up simply as being “stupid,” in the good sense. Needless to say, he was sent on to Vegas.

Next Wednesday “So You Think You Can Dance” will be moving on to Boston to continue auditioning more hopefuls.