Last night was the final round of the So You Think You Can Dance solo auditions, and it’s safe to say the competition was ferocious. After all, who doesn’t want to be America’s favorite dancer? But before we move on to the next round of the competition, we need to recap the remarkable performances of all the dancers who made it through.
Ali Deutscher
Twenty-three-year-old Ali Dutcher came to the “SYT” auditions with some serious credits under her belt — including danced last year with Katy Perry in Las Vegas. But after last night’s episode, she has one more item to add to her resume. a standing ovation from the three judges – Comfort Fedoke, Alison Holker and Maksim Chmerkovskiy – and a place in the choreography round.
Jaylin Sanders
We have three words. isolations, isolations, isolations. That’s pretty much all that comes to mind after watching Jaylin’s audition.
The judges seemed to agree, with Comfort even calling out the skills midway through Jaylin’s performance. Alison gave Jaelyn an absolute yes, and Maxim and Comfort joined her to give Jaelyn three yeses and a spot in the choreography round.
Mariah Hawkins
Twenty-one-year-old Mariah first joined the ‘SYT’ family when she auditioned for ‘The Next Generation’ in 2016. But she’s back in 2024 older, wiser and trying to be kinder to herself – something we love very much see.
However, there was some disagreement among the judges when it came to Mariyah’s performance. Judge Maxim said he wanted to see more of Mariah’s personality when she performed, but Alison disagreed. However, all three judges gave Mariyah a yes and sent her through to the next round.
Anthony Curley
It’s rare that “SYT” judges don’t want to give criticism – after all, that’s their job. But 18-year-old Anthony Curley’s performance was something of a rarity, making Judge Comfort reluctant to criticize.
She was joined by Maxim, who called Anthony the “LeBron James of dance,” and Alison, who didn’t want Anthony’s performance to end. Needless to say, Anthony got three yeses from the judges.
Leahy Katriel
Leahy brought the funk – jazz funk, that is. However, the judges had some concerns. Maxim seemed worried about Leahy’s range, though she assured him that she trained in all different styles of dance. And while Leahy got a yes from all three, Alison made it clear that her yes doesn’t come easily and that she wants to see more from Leahy in the next round.
Julian Carmolinga
Twenty-seven-year-old Julian came to the auditions with something heavy on his heart. He grew up in Chicago surrounded by gangland violence. His hope is that through dance he can help inspire the next generation to escape their own adversity.
This emotion is evident in his performance. Alison told him she could feel his pain when he danced. Julian got a yes from all three judges.
Juicy love Dion
We were beyond excited to see Juicy Love hit the “SYT” stage for a dazzling drag performance. She brought the energy, the personality, the acrobatics — and she did it in heels.
Juicy received a standing ovation from the judges, and Alison called her performance “the full package.” It was yes from all three judges and Juicy made it to the next round. Shantai, you stay!
Victor Ramos
Thirty-year-old Victor comes to “SYT” just under the wire. After all, 30 is the upper age limit for contestants on the show. But for Victor, his audition was not just a last chance, but a new beginning.
Victor’s performance won the final standing ovation at the auditions, and we could see why. But Maxim wanted to make sure that even at 30, Victor still had the desire to learn and take on more. Victor said yes and in return was a yes from all three judges.
With that the auditions were over and we had a full pool of dancers heading to the next round. Next week, these 35 talented performers will head to the choreography round, where we’ll see 35 become 10.