‘So You Think You Can Dance’ review: Armen Way, Shafeek Westbrook return

“So You Think You Can Dance” is showing off some amazing dancers this season, but tonight’s episode was really the first time that we start to wonder about a few specific styles. Where are the unique styles this time around? We’d love at least one person who specializes in Bollywood, or Irish Folk Dance, or African. Just something beyond the norm. We suppose we did have whacking, but we’d already seen the guy before.

Tonight’s auditions took place in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and we have a few assorted highlights from the group below.

Serge Onik and Alla – Remember Serge? He nearly made the top 20 last year, and returned this time with a different partner. This guy is almost a lock for the top 20 this time,since he still has all the skills plus another year of training.

Timothy Joseph – There are not that many b-boys who commonly refer to themselves by that name anymore, mostly because they tend to use “hip-hop” instead. There were a few moves in here that were a little messy, but there is no doubting that this was different and original. Unfortunately, his injury kept him from going forward.

Casey Askew – A potential winner candidate in our book. He has the look, the moves, and the style that tend to do well in this competition. What he just needs to work on is to continue to bring the personality.

Jourdan Epstein – A very gifted dancer, but a strange pre-show package that was almost all about her addict brother who has turned her life around. We know so much more about her brother, who wasn’t even there, than we do about her.

Johnny Waacks – We’d feel so much worse for Johnny if he didn’t give himself a nickname that was so easy to make fun of. He is a very good dancer, though, and we saw true passion throughout this. Not only that, but in choreography he proved himself to be a capable dancer.

Armen Way and Malene – Armen is the guy who dropped his partner last year, but before that happened he was a great dancer. Therefore, there was never a concern about the pair’s chances of moving forward. They are both absolutely fantastic ballroom performers.

Philadelphia Dancers

Bridget Whitman – A quick suggestion for producers: Can you make the font of the performers a little easier to read? It’s hard to get all the names right, and Bridget definitely deserves all the recognition in the world and then some for this emotional, lyrical routine.

Mia Sanders – A cool dancer with even cooler hair. We’re mostly surprised that she was put through to choreography at all, given that she was clearly good enough for us to get a ticket straight through.

Landon Anderson – How many good ballroom dancers are there this season? We remember a few years ago that there was a serious lack of them, but there is almost ballroom overload this time.

Stanley Glover – Our favorite of the night, mostly because he does have that very thing in artistry that we mentioned early. He wants to stand out in a crowd with his brand of contemporary dancing, and he does.

Who was your favorite tonight? Share below, and head over here if you want to get some more news worth dancing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: USA