After a brief detour to some (bad) rapping on the street, it was time to meet Darius Hickman.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE can sometimes be annoying with all of the sob stories. Like, we get it: People have rough lives. We all do. No need to tell the same sad stuff, over and over again.
I’m saying all of this because, for Darius Hickman, the story actually mattered. This kid went through far too much loss in far too little time. He never knew his father, and his mother was sent to prison for drugs. He went to live with his aunt, but then she wound up in an abusive relationship, from which she and Darius weren’t able to safely run. All of this started when he was about four or five. Then, three years ago when he was only a teenager, his aunt died.
Darius said of his life of struggle: “It was rough to get through, but when I found dance, I let all of that out.” This is so important.
After hearing the whole story, Nigel said he was really hoping Darius would be good because he deserved to finally have something good happen to him. And let me tell you: Darius Hickman wasn’t just good when he auditioned for SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. He was nothing short of a miracle in motion; and he had me on the edge of my seat from count one.
Darius had every ounce of power and passion, control and extension of an Ailey dancer. Someone, please, pick up the phone and offer that young man a scholarship to study at The Ailey School. If not there, then somewhere. That beautifully pulled up standing leg in those pirouettes, coupled with all of that emotion, should not go to waste. Nope.
This guy is heartbreakingly good; and like Nigel said, he deserves for something good to happen to him.
(But, Darius, in the interest of constructive criticism so you can be even better? Watch your feet in those massive leaps. They’re fine for most of the solo, but for some reason, they…aren’t in leaps.)
The verdict: Three judges, standing with tickets to the Academy. And then Nigel and Mary did that banter thing they do. Nigel said he’d never complain again. Mary’s response: “Can we get that in writing?”
The shade.
I’ve missed this weird dynamic so, so much…Is it weird to ship it? It’s probably weird to ship it.
“United Nations of Dance” montage time!
We get it, folks: Your contestants come from all over the world, just like on that new show, WORLD OF DANCE.
Bonus: More Mary-Nigel banter. “Mary will lend you her broomstick,” followed by, “yeah, we’ll know where to shove it.” Drag him, Mary. Drag. Him. (He’s missed you, and he has no other way to show it. Silly boys.)
The last dancers for the first round of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE season 14’s Los Angeles auditions were Anastasiia and Viktoriia.
Take two ladies from Russia, and bring them to the U.S. to audition for a massively popular reality competition series. Make sure they’ve only been in America for two days before doing their thing. Throw in an amazingly quirky, high-difficulty and high-energy modern dance performance, and what do you get? Anastasiia and Viktoriia.
I honestly don’t know if the majority of SYTYCD’s audience is going to quite understand the difficulty of sustaining that particular quality of movement. I also don’t really know what the story was that the Russians were trying to tell? But um, whatever it was, it was a really, really good story. Much like everyone else (except the Austin Powers fail) in this episode, their piece was a lesson in performance quality.
My future bff, Nigel Lythgoe, agreed: “Excellent. Brilliant entertainment. Fantastic characters within the dance. And beautifully executed.” When Nigel was done singing the twins’ praises, Mary Murphy had her chance to compliment them. She was in tears for the second time this episode; but unlike with the earlier ballroom performance, she didn’t even know why she was crying. Something just moved her. Mary also mentioned that she had started with modern — no idea how I missed that detail, love her more now– and said that Anastasiia and Viktoriia’s duet was the best modern audition she’d ever seen on SYTYCD. Finally, Vanessa complimented the sisters’ piece, saying it was “so emotional and breathtakingly beautiful.” She promised she’d pay “so much money” to see them perform; and I sat at home, wondering whether she’d ever heard of donating money to ADF, which showcases great modern and contemporary annually…
The verdict: How do you say “Academy” in Russian???
Wrapping it up.
After showing off some Russian to impress the pretty girls, Nigel Lythgoe told his fellow judges that he was worried. The SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Los Angeles auditions had brought dancers from Ukraine, Korea, and Russia to America…and he was afraid Trump would ban the show.
I love the taste of savagery in the evening — almost as much as I love spending an hour watching the hot tamale train fill up.
Make sure to watch the second half of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE’s Los Angeles auditions Monday, June 19 at 8/7c on FOX.
