The first dancer that graced the stage was a young girl of 18. She did a ballroom routine like nobody’s business. She was fluid and professional and had the moves of someone half a generation beyond her years. Mary Murphy said she may have been a girl when she came out, but she was a woman when she performed. I didn’t buy that for the simple reason her braces were glaring at me. She was put through, but I’m curious what else she’ll be able to do.
That’s how it was with about half the contestants on this edition of So You Think You Can Dance. (No, no, no … not the fact they had gleaming dental work, the wonder of what they can do given professional choreography, you.)
And, of course, there were the usual freaks and weirdos taking the stage was well. Like “Devil De Flame / Divine De Flame / Rainbow Light Bright” alien Lynne Gravatt who I thought might pull through and surprise the heck out of everyone … that is until I saw her perform. Someone needs to seriously sit down with this gal and tell her the nerdy profession she left needs to be reacquired for her own good. She can still do her jaunty jig on the side to her heart’s content, just as an employed alien of society. (If you saw it, you know it was just this side of painful to watch.)
Of the other freaks, there was Praying Mantis Boy Gene Lonardo. Decked out in spotty green body paint, sparkly eye make up and oozing effemininity as if there was no tomorrow, he was the perfect example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The dude definitely rocked his contemporary program of the life of a praying mantis, right down to the head decapitation his imaginary mate committed:
There were lesser freaks, too. The whitebread crumping Mariah Spears who was scarier than all get out on stage with her slightly plump yet chiseled jaw that accentuated her power and attitude and Rachel Applehans who simply needed a stripper pole to be completely comfortable on stage. Both these gals made it not only into the choreography round, but onward to Vegas as well.
Of course, the real surprise of the show was the performance of Sacramentan Leroy Martinez which has to actually be seen to be believed:
Leroy made it into choreography as shown in the video, but he ultimately wasn’t up to par to move beyond that. It’s a shame they didn’t show his stint there in the video, but we have the inspirational routine above as proof of why we were left smiling at the show’s close.
Onward to Vegas …
Quotes:
“The family ties are strong in Utah” — Cat Deeley (Michael’s Note: Well duh, Cat. It’s Utah.)
“Don’t forget it’s … the 2nd thing we probably ever did when we first were able to walk. You put a piece of music on and kids, without being taught anything, will just start moving. That’s what we do naturally. And somehow along the way, along our lives, it’s knocked out of us. And you embody the spirit of dance …” — Nigel to Leroy Martinez after his audition
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on Jun 14, 2012 @ 10:44 EST5EDT
