Last night’s So You Think You Can Dance episode of Vegas week was probably the most entertaining of the season so far (I hope it only goes up from here). Why didn’t they show us all of these fab dancers during the auditions? There’s a lot of talent this season and fingers crossed that also includes better shiny, happy personalities compared to Season 5’s snoozy gang. Video clips (by MJ) and recaps below:

First, each dancer performs a solo in their own style:

Nathan Trasoras (Contemporary) – I’ve made it no secret that I’ve had a semi-cougar crush on this newly-turned 18-year-old from Southern California since his audition last season. Back then he was too young to participate but Nigel promised him a free pass to this season’s Vegas audition. Nathan is still squeal-y adorable with his rosy cheeks and Taylor Lautner resemblance. He does what seems to be his signature move again - a big pirouette spin which ends in a sweeping leg (but I’m no dance expert). He’s not the best dancer in the bunch, but has a great center of gravity, excellent charisma and a positive attitude - I think he’s perfect for the show (ya hear me, Nigel??). I hope he makes it to Top 20.  VIDEO

Ellenore Scott (Contemporary) – Ellenore is a deliiiight! Again, why were they hiding her all season? Talk about having both “personality” and skill, she combined them perfectly in her solo. It was cheeky, exquisite and her musicality was superb. Hope she makes it far. VIDEO

Sadly, two early favorites are cut without much fanfare: Allison Becker, the deaf dancer, and Thomas Hamilton, the crack baby who wanted to use dance to get out of his crummy town. Their solos just weren’t strong enough for the judges. VIDEO

The gay male ballroom dancers, Willem de Vris & Jacob Jason perform together, but Jacob is cut and peaces out without saying goodbye to Willem. Add another tally to the “awkward goodbyes” category. VIDEO

The surviving dancers learn a Hip Hop routine with Tabitha & Napoleon and perform in pairs.

The dorky, “whimsical” Teddy Tedholm (remember? Mr. Clown Pants from Boston?) manages to pass the Hip Hop round, but my favorite b-boy from the auditions, ridiculously strong and mind-blowing Jean Lloret, doesn’t make it. *frowny face* I love his personality much more than b-boy Legacy’s, and hope he tries out again next year. VIDEO

Tap dancer Ryan Kasprzak (brother of Season 5 Top 20 contestant, Evan Kasprzak) barely gets a pass from the judges! Uh oh, and here I thought it’d be smooth sailing for him this season. The judges put pressure on Ryan to work a lot harder for the next challenge: a super-speed Latin ballroom number choreographed by Louis Van Amstel. VIDEO

Ballroom wears down a lot of dancers. Newbie Contemporary dancer Billy Bell (of “swayed back” and “banana bunch fingers”) gets clocked in the nose (*cue Marcia Brady clip - “Oooouggh! My nose!“) by his partner’s elbow (I think it’s salsa-hip hop-pop lock dancer Christina Santana) and ends up with a gushing, bloody nose. It’s better than a missing toenail *still gagging*, so I’m fine. VIDEO

Oh. Em. Gee! How much fun was it to watch Krumper Russell Ferguson perform the ballroom number with World 10 Dance Champion Iveta Lukosiute? Their dance backgrounds are so different, but they have excellent chemistry and the judges can’t believe that Russell totally holds his own with a ballroom star like Iveta. Both pass to the next round. VIDEO

On the other side of things, b-boy Legacy and Jonathan Litzler, the tumbler-Contemporary dancer from New Orleans, don’t impress the judges and are asked to DANCE FOR THEIR LIVES (yay, it’s back!). We also see that bloody-nosed Billy Bell passes the round with his partner, even though they hardly got to practice. Skills. VIDEO

Ryan Kasprzak dances the ballroom round but still doesn’t win over the judges. He’s cut. So much for that. I wonder if Nigel was so hard on him because they were simultaneously filming Season 5 and lil bro Evan was totally overstaying his welcome while better dancers were getting sent home…We watch Ryan “say goodbye” to his fellow dancers for what feels like ages. One thing’s clear: he’s a popular guy on campus with other dancers. VIDEO

Time for Jonathan Litzler and Legacy to DANCE FOR THEIR LIVES. Legacy scrapes through, while cutie patootie Jonathan doesn’t convince the judges that he was really DANCING FOR HIS LIFE, so he’s out (though begged to try out again next year). VIDEO

We get clips of Nathan Trasoras and Atlanta’s “excellent technique, but no personality” dancer, Amber Jackson, passing the Ballroom test, while Teddy Tedholm and “I get winded just watching him” New Orleans Bouncer, Shelby “Skip” Skipper get the axe.

Next week: More high-pressured, stresstastic Vegas Week episodes. Blood, sweat and tears tears tears. I love the clip they keep showing of choreographer Laurieann Gibson barking, “Your life is on the line… NOW DANCE!” So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 is chugging along… NOW WATCH!

Whoa!  ShanDo’s getting a reality series!

Socialite Life has the scoop on Beverly Hills, 90210 / Charmed’s bad girl Shannen Doherty:

Hoping to leave behind her reputation for being difficult, Shannen Doherty is striking out on her own with a reality television series tentatively entitled, Shannen.

The 38-year-old Beverly Hills, 90210 alum recently teased of her upcoming project, “I’ll be back on TV very soon. There will be an announcement very soon. I promise you that.” A source dishes more details to E! Online, “They’re still figuring out exactly how it will be done. It may even have some scripted elements.”

Doherty has reportedly been shopping the show around to several networks and according to the snitch, “She’s excited about it, because she doesn’t want that stigma anymore of being a bitch.”

This, I can totally get behind. Finally, a reality show I can relate to!

Eh, not really.  Just love ShanDo, is all.

Ew, *gag* Was it really necessary for So You Think You Can Dance to dedicate alllll that screen time to Salt Lake City auditioner Leigh Asay’s toenail falling off? Ugggh, it makes me queasy just thinking about it and I was avoiding looking at the screen the whole time. *hurp*

Last night, Mia Michaels joined Mary and Nigel in Utah for the FINAL city of auditions (”Hallelujah!”). Highlights and video clips (from MJ)…now:

Hayley Cloud (Contemporary) - Hayley had a spinal injury that almost stopped her from dancing, but with a little acupuncture and physical therapy, she was miraculously right as rain and able to dance like a demon. She’s a really good dancer, you’d have no idea about her previous back problems the way she was whipping around and tumbling. Good energy and makes it to Vegas. VIDEO

Megan Kinney (Contemporary) and Genise Ruidiaz (Contemporary) are two curly-haired vixens that also make it straight to Vegas. You may remember that Megan also auditioned last year with her sister, Season 5 contestant Caitlin Kinney, but didn’t make it past Vegas. I always thought she was more fiery than her sister although they don’t even talk about her (compared to the screen time they gave Ryan Kasprzak), so I wonder if that’s a bad sign. VIDEO

Iveta Lukosiute (Ballroom) - Iveta is a tall, lithe thang with a platinum blonde bob. She’s from Lithuania and talks about how happy she is to be in America: land of opportunities. Her dancing is gorgeous and so impressive that Mary is reduced to tears. Iveta may not have “the look” of the typical SYTYCD contestant (she looks much older), but there’s no doubt that she at least deserves a straight shot to Vegas. VIDEO

Ashleigh & Ryan Di Lello (Ballroom) - Another married ballroom couple auditioning together. We get clips of the two cutie marrieds at home, but not so fast! While the judges think Ryan is amazing, they think Ashleigh is a cornball faker who has trouble connecting to her husband(!). Ouch. Both get sent to choreography (again, WHY bother to send the ballroom auditioners to the ballroom choreography test?) and both make it to Vegas. Good luck with that, Di Lellos.  VIDEO

Leigh Asay (Ballroom) - Okay, this is NOT meant for the faint of heart. This is “the toenail girl” audition (my stomach churns every time I think of her). Leigh and her partner deliver a solid audition, although I don’t find her the strongest ballroom dancer (especially not after seeing Iveta). But that doesn’t matter because as she waits to be critiqued, she realizes her toenail came off *gag* Needless to say they spend TOO much time on this nastiness and even the judges are cringing and freaking out over the massive ickiness. Leigh gets sent straight to Vegas (I think they just wanted to get her off the stage), but her partner does not. VIDEO

Tonight? There’s MORE So You Think You Can Dance and we’re in VEGAS, baby! From the dramatic preview clip, they make it seem like Fame or something because we just see snippets of the choreographers shouting Debbie Allen-style at the dancers as they sweat, spin and split-kick in unison. Highlight? I see a milisecond of my cutie, Nathan Trasoras - I sooo hope he impresses! Gotta tune in tonight!

Last night, So You Think You Can Dance headed to New Orleans - the Big Easy, land of Mardi Gras, marching bands playing “When the Saints Go Marching In” and lots of dance talent (finally!). Nigel was out getting a doctorate, so our judges are Lil C, Mary and Adam Shankman. The vibe isn’t the same without Nigel, but the show must go on! Recaps and video clips (from MJ) of the better dancers below:

Shelby “Skip” Skipper (New Orleans Bounce) - Skip does this crazy local dance style called the “New Orleans Bounce” which looks exhausting and requires high energy that he delivers. He’s definitely fun to watch and the judges are really excited to see a new style of dance, but I wonder why they decided to send him straight to Vegas. Usually dancers with this sort of niche specialty are at least put through the choreography test. Hm, What Would Nigel Do? VIDEO

Jonathan Litzler (Contemporary) – Jonathan is a really strong tumbler who blends it in his dance. Dang, check out those leg muscles - what the sinew?! Off to Vegas for him. VIDEO

Alison Nance, Calvin Turner Jr. and Edward Spots - Montage of three dancers who make the cut to Vegas. Who are they? Will we ever find out? VIDEO

Justin Kenney (B-boy) - For the third time this season, Cat narrates that Justin “is one of the best b-boys we’ve ever seen”. Unless I’m seeing things, he’s got massive plugs in his ears and piercing blue eyes. He sort of looks like Uncle Jesse from Full House, but ganglier. He was recently in a serious car accident and suffered a lot of head trauma, but he’s still able to do some wild tricks - Lil C says something about Justin’s impressive transition from “flares to babies” and I’m delighted. Unfortch, Justin isn’t that great in choreography, but I actually see some potential, like he could be someone the audience watches “grow” as a dancer over the season. The judges must agree because they still give him a plane ticket to Vegas. VIDEO

Kimalee Piedad (Theater Arts) - We’re treated to another new dance style in The Big Easy tonight: Theater Arts. It’s apparently a combo of like…ballet, contemporary and ice dancing. Just very flowy partnered dancing with some extremely unique lifts. Kimalee is trying out, while her partner is there to support her (though he deserves props for that strength - no doubt). She has a witty personality, and their audition is lovely to watch. Although, it may be a bummer if she makes it because Kimalee would lose a lot of the “wow” factor (much like ballroom dancers) without a partner to work off of. But, she makes it to Vegas so we’ll see how she fares. VIDEO

Jakob Karr (Contemporary) - Holy smokes! I thought Jakob was amaaaazing to watch. One of the strongest Contemporary auditions I’ve seen this season (but I am still hoping to see more of that cutie Nathan Trasoras). I hope we get to see more of him in Vegas. VIDEO

Diana Drexler (Contemporary) - Diana’s audition is in the last 5 minutes of the show, which means: tearjerker ahead! The previous day, she found out that her grandfather passed away, so she’s battling a roller coaster of emotions, and wants to make him proud. She’s a very sweet girl and does a fine audition, though admittedly it’s not mindblowing. Something about her reminds me of Baby in Dirty Dancing. Anywho, the judges are empathetic and ask her to do the choreography test, which she passes - so she gets a ticket to Vegas and hopes her grandpa is proud. Maybe I almost teared up. Maybe. VIDEO

Next time, we hit the FINAL audition city (finally!) - Salt Lake City, Utah, where apparently everyone dances on mountain tops in slow motion. Then, the gauntlet of Vegas Week begins. Who’ll make it? Who’ll get cut? *dramatic muzac* Tune in next week to So You Think You Can Dance!

Was anyone expecting Lauren Conrad to fade away in the celeb background after quitting The Hills?  Yeah, me too.

Turns out her bestselling young adult novel, L.A. Candy will be made into a full-length feature film!  The book follows 19-year-old protagonist Jane Roberts as she moves to Los Angeles and finds fame as a reality TV star.  Here’s what producer Marty Bowen had to say about the whole shebang:

“Lauren, who became an icon in that reality show world, came to us with a structure of how to tell the story in an interesting fashion that was separate and apart from the book.  We loved her take. Her book is an honest portrayal of what it must be like to set out to be normal, then sign on to become famous and eventually realize, wow, this isn’t at all what I’d planned for myself.

So interesting that Lauren would be able to create an honest portrayal of what it must be like to be a reality star.  She’s super creative.

Lauren plans to write more books involving the same character.  Should I read these?  Is the first one out in paperback yet?

Wake me when the movie’s out.

[Source: Variety]

Geez Louise, thank goodness for DVRs or I would’ve totally missed last night’s So You Think You Can Dance Atlanta auditions episode. Lil C joined Nigel and Mary on the panel. *sigh* So far, Season 6 hasn’t really knocked my socks off - to be honest, I’m ready for these audition episodes to be over with! Quickie recaps below (vids from MJ):

Billy Bell (Contemporary, Ballet) – He started dancing just 5 years ago and has a cute baby face. Nigel was quick to point out his rough technique (”swayed back” and “banana bunch fingers”), but they still want to send him straight to Vegas. VIDEO

Amber Jackson (Contemporary) – She’s a good dancer, but I wasn’t connecting - apparently I wasn’t alone! The judges really rail on her for not engaging with them, staring at no one as she performed. Nigel says her performance was “sh!t” to try and shake some emotion into her. They give her a second chance with choreography. Amber hits the steps, but is still too empty in the eyes for me. The judges also tell her to really keep working on being more “there” in her performances to captivate the audience, but give her a ticket to Vegas. VIDEO

Victor Smalley (Modern) – He’s got potential *shrug* Makes it to Vegas. VIDEO

Anthony and Antwain Hart (Hip Hop) – These twins auditioned in Season 4 and are back for more. They’re pretty fun to watch, although I find myself watching the gray-vested brother more (Antwain). Unfortunately for me, he bombs at choreography and doesn’t get through to Vegas, while his bro (Anthony) does. Awwwwwkwaaaaard! VIDEO

Jessica Jensen (Contemporary) – Jessica had to amputate her left hand after cancer took it over about a year ago, but she has an upbeat attitude and continues her passion: dancing. She’s gives a strong, emotional audition, but unfortunately chokes during the choreography and is cut.  VIDEO

Thomas Hamilton (Contemporary) – As usual, they end the episode with a meant-to-tear-jerk dancer. Thomas grew up as a crack baby and was raised by his aunt. He’s worked really hard to overcome and get away from his impoverished town, which he sees as a dead-end. Dance is what saved him - thanks in part to Mia Michaels for inspiring him to pursue Contemporary. Thomas does a very nice audition, but it becomes too spiritual/worshiping for Nigel toward the end. Still, the judges know he is a very beautiful dancer with a lot to offer. He passes choreography and gets a ticket to ride. VIDEO

Don’t forget: tonight is another So You Think You Can Dance audition episode: New Orleans, baby! Nigel looks to be missing from the panel, so it will be Lil C, Mary and Adam Shankman callin’ the shots.

Get yer cah from the pahkin laht and let’s get a beeyah at the bahh cuz tonight we finally saw some gems from So You Think You Can Dance’s Season 6 audition episode in Boston, Mass!

Too bad my least favorite guest judge, Tyce “Dr. Evil” Diorio, joined Nigel and Mary on the panel. Recap and videos ahead (by Rickey and mrduckbears3).

Teddy Tedholm (Contemporary) - I recall seeing this “whimsical” guy in a teaser last season. I remember him as “the meth face guy” because I saw this traumatic Faces of Meth site that shows how addicts pick at their faces til they get all scabby and *shudder* - just DON’T do meth, kids! Teddy was flail-y, like a ragdoll clown, but he has control over his movements too. *I* prefer to associate his audition song (Jason Mraz’s “If It Kills Me”) with the gorgeous “Best Friends Who Finally Do It” routine from Jeanine Mason & Jason Glover last season instead, but whatevs - he makes it to Vegas. He’ll probably win over a fanbase that’s into spastic guys who try really hard to stand out and call themselves “whimsical”. Meh, worse things have happened. VIDEO

Jean Lloret (B-boy) - Whoa. Jean was starting to bore the judges in his audition opening steps that went on a hair too long, but then BOOM BOOM POW - he jumped into this INSANE 360 degree spin suspended arm press thing that I can’t even properly describe. It was so mindboggling and extraordinary that Mary *and* Nigel just look at each other wide-eyed and start SCREEEEEAAAAMING IN SHOCK while Tyce keeps making propellar gestures with his arms in disbelief. Immediately after Jean finished, all three judges were already standing up with Vegas tix. Jean didn’t even know where he was going, but I already love him way more than Legacy from last week. Can he do ballroom though? I hope so. VIDEO

Kimara Wood (Modern) - We get a short clip of Kimara who is shirtless and doing explosive leaps with his long hair swinging all over the place (and you know I’m into that). Vegas straight away. VIDEO

Channing Cooke (Contemporary) - Once the cameras follow attention-loving Channing to her ice cream parlor job, you can bet she’ll make it through to Vegas. Soo much backstory footage, c’mon producers - keep me guessing. Channing’s got a lot of personality, meaning she’s mouthy and really hams it up to the camera. That can work for her or against her. Her audition is fluid, although she may be just another cute blonde dancing to an acoustic Jason Mraz song. The judges like her but want more from her performance (ok, so Tyce said that and I agree - that makes me wanna throw up). She passes the choreography and gets a Vegas ticket. VIDEO

Russell Ferguson (Krump) - Russell’s auditioned before but never made it to Vegas. He krumps like his life depends on it which is really nice to see after all of the Contemporary auditions. He’s fierce and hard-hitting and solid. The judges put him through to choreography and he makes it to Vegas! Hooray! Could Russell be the first Krumper to ever make Top 20?  VIDEO

Karen & Matthew Hauer (Latin Ballroom) - A sexy ballroom dancing husband and wife who know they’re sexy. The judges agree that they’re hot, hot, HOT and they’re the first married team who make it through to Vegas. VIDEO

Gene Bersten (Latin Ballroom) - Gene is a pretty boy ballroom dancer who’s in love with himself. He’s cute, but makes a lot of distracting, wide-eyed eyebrow facial tweaks during his audition. He is technically strong and has the ballroom machismo though. The judges agree with me about his wonky eyebrow ticks, but Gene passes choreography (piece of cake since it’s ballroom) and he’s off to Vegas. VIDEO

Kevin “K’Bez” Hunte (Hip Hop) - K’Bez auditioned Season 3 and is back after training in Contemporary, among other things. His audition is Hip Hop though, and is okay, but I know we’ve seen stronger in the past and the judges agree. Tyce, for some unknown reason, gets really confrontational with cool as a cucumber K’Bez, saying he wasn’t thinking intelligently for his audition and didn’t show off his Contemporary skills, delayed his back flip, yada yada blah blah. I swear, Tyce just likes hearing the sound of his shrill voice going yapyapyippityyap and I want to slap him in the pie-hole. Urgh. Luckily, K’Bez does great in choreography testing and has a chance to prove himself again in Vegas. VIDEO

Next week on So You Think You Can Dance, we go to Atlanta where some dancer is soooo good that Mary is brought to tears. Til then - PAYCE OUT.

Before getting started on tonight’s So You Think You Can Dance Season 6 audition episode set in Phoenix, Arizona - did you hear that choreographer and director Adam Shankman will be joining Nigel and Mary as a permanent third judge this season??? I wonder if they’ll keep having guest judges… I do admit that Adam is probably my fave guest judge on the show - he’s always psyched about good dancing - but not in an obnoxious way - and he has a “thick as thieves” rapport with Nigel and Mary.

ANYWAY, tonight’s guest judge was Mia Michaels. I was not WOWed overall, but here are videos of the better dancers (from MJ):

Sasha Mallory - Sasha’s from Bakersfield, CA (no comment despite my Cali snobbery) and has a funky haircut and sense of style. You’d think she was a badarse, but then she can’t quit crying over how much she loves/needs her family. It’s sweet - almost too sweet - cut the cord, girl, sheesh! j/p. Sasha auditions with a lovely white dress that matches her lovely white prop chair and does very Mia Michaels and Sonya-esque choreography. You know the kind: a little ragdoll-y action here… some twitchy-jerky moves there… some flowy extensions… and character to boot. It’s interesting to watch and you best believe she cried her way to Vegas with her lovin’ family. VIDEO

Allison Becker - In a tale not unlike Marlee Matlin’s press when she joined Dancing With the Stars a few seasons ago, Allison has defied the odds and become a persevering, graceful dancer - despite losing her hearing to Spinal Meningitis. She’s good, considering she can’t hear-hear the music (she feels the beat), though she’s admittedly not the best evahs. Still, her dancing has Mary sobbing as she’s reminded of a deaf cousin who gave up on her dream (to dance?) before passing away. The judges put Allison through to choreography and she makes it to Vegas. But will she survive that high-pressured week of rapid-fire choreography and a format that probably won’t slow down and cater to her disability? *dum dum DUM* We’ll see! VIDEO

Willem de Vris & Jacob Jason - These fellas are the #1 US same-sex ballroom couple and they’re trying to earn back street cred after last season’s disappointing same-sex couple debut. Willem & Jason are definitely strong in technique although the routine is too understated for me - where are the lifts, the eye-popping tricks? But Mia Michaels could care less about tricks and she’s just so moved by them that she’s boohooing a storm. The judges are way more positive this time around (also probably more sensitive after the backlash Nigel got last season for his homophobic comments) and the gay duo are sent to choreography (a cinch since it’s their genre: ballroom!). Both Willem & Jacob get tickets to Vegas. I’m sure both can nail the lines and emotion for Contemporary, but are they well-rounded enough to pull off Krumping or Hip hop? VIDEO

Jonathan “Legacy” Perez - This alleged “best b-boy ever”(?) does his thing well. In b-boy/dance lingo, I imagine they’d call his moves “spinny” and “flippy”. He has a lot of swagger/cockiness when he dances and seems to go about 100 mph. I bet Toni Basil would say he’s pretty “STREET.” He’s fun to watch and strong - the only drawback for me is that his voice is surprisingly high-pitched - just me? No matter, Legacy makes it to Vegas. VIDEO

Next week So You Think You Can Dance auditions head to old Beantown: Boston and Tyce DiOrio guest judges *frown*. The clips hint at some amazing dancers, but then again they always show SO MANY clips of rad dancing from random peeps in line during at these auditions and then we never see any of them again…

Welcome… to So You Think You Can Dance! Season 6 is alive and well just one teeny month after Season 5’s finale. Oh you don’t scare me, Nigel Lythgoe. I’ll take on your excessive love of dance, I’ll take it like a champ.

We open with auditions in LA and Adam Shankman is the third judge, joining Nigel and Mary Murphy. Videos of just the impressive folks (thanks to MJ) and recap-o-rama ahead:

Ick. Crazy Cole Clemens, a guy with two hairstyles on his head (crew cut on the left, sideways mohawk on the right), is our first audition. He just does some, er, a capella performance art: twitchy, overly dramatic movements (but not dancing) more suited for a drama class audition. He even does a monologue but all I remember is, “Shatter. Shatter. Shatter-shatter! SHATTER.” What a joke. Lame.

Next! Remember Mollee Gray from Utah? They showed her audition last season as a teaser and here’s what I said then, “Some girl named Mollee from Utah moved her whole family to Cali just so she could have more dance opportunities. Her audition is scrambled and flawed, imo. But she’s bubbly like Kellie Pickler so I assume they let her through to Vegas.” Well, I was right. We also learn that she was a principal dancer in High School Musical 1, 2 and 3. Through her very long backstory footage, the producers implore us, “How can you not love this girl? She’s blonde and smiley and cute! She says things like, ‘Alls we have is each other’ and has a mom who’s a MILF named Thursday (no lie)! Love her, America. LOVE MOLLEE GRAY.”

Sorry, but my original impression didn’t change. Mollee made great leaps, but to me it was a generic contemporary audition and lacked polish and hard-hitting moves. But the judges love her looks, bubbliness and think she can grow. She gets a ticket to Vegas. VIDEO

Then we see a trio of contemporary dancers who make it through: David Hovhannisyan who, despite wearing yellow, junk-highlighting short shorts, has sinewy moves that win over the judges. Amanda Kerby, who’s back after getting cut during last season’s Vegas week. (Remember? Her dad has MS…). And Brandon Dumlao, who is a contemporary dancer from the Bay Area, so holla at that! VIDEO

Next it’s the return of the tappa, tappa, tap dancers: Ryan Kasprzak (a.k.a. big bro to last season’s Broadway and “why are you still here?” guy Evan) and Bianca Revels. We open with Ryan’s audition: it’s like poetry reading+tap dancing love child. He taps as he narrates, saying things like, “I hear music *tippity tappity tippity*” He manages to sell it - the judges adore him and think it was a brilliant audition. They’re really talking him up even though they totally should’ve picked him last season over his brother. Vegas, naturally. VIDEO.

Bianca Revels - The touted female tap dancer is back AGAIN. We see clips of her getting cut last season, “I’m not coming back! This was my last time!” and this season, “I’m not a quitter. I’m gonna keep coming back!” Hm. She’s got spunk though. Bianca doesn’t get a proper solo audition because she takes on Nigel’s challenge to have a “tap battle” (known in their world as a “tap trade”) with Ryan. But thank god she did because, I admit - whether I think they’re Top 20 material is beside the point - their tap trading is totally lighthearted and fun to watch. It’s really impressive to watch the two of them improv together and mesh. The audience and judges are rolling in ecstasy over the dance geekiness of it all. Vegas, for Bianca also. Good luck, B! I hope they don’t crush your dreams again. VIDEO.

Another time-wasting bad dancer, Christopher Aguilar. He’s actually an articulate guy and has passion, but the heavy-handed editing makes him look like a damned fool. There’ve definitely be odder folks, was he really necessary to pick on? He dances to “All That Jazz” and it’s not very good, but does have Nigel, Mary and Adam singing and dancing along which is fun to watch.

Amber Williams - Like Mollee, they give her a long backstory treatment. She helps care for her paralyzed mom. Producers: “Get it, America? Cry now. CRY FOR AMBER WILLIAMS! Did you hear her wheelchair-bound mother say she feels so free when she sees her daughter dance? Weep, b!tches!” No really, Amber and her sweet mother are truly genuine and wonderful to see. But you know I hate being beaten over the head with manipulating editing/favoritism. And to be fair, like Mollee, Amber is not the most fluid of dancers and has difficulty emoting as she performs. Nigel agrees while also trying to bring up her sob story. C’est la vie. Side note: I dunno if the judges choreograph their reactions but these three have a great rapport - I thought their synchronized whisper that she made it to “Vegasssss” was hilar. VIDEO.

Alexie Agdeppa and Paula Van Oppen, both contemporary lady dancers, make it. I think we saw Paula last season. The short pixie haircut… she looks familiar, right? VIDEO

Christina Santana - This latin lady is performing a routine of salsa-hip hop-pop lock. Hip-Salslock-Hop? Christina and her partner have the fire, although I started laughing when they stopped to do the pop locking (a.k.a. the Robot) in the middle of their ballroom. C’monnnnnnn. But there was a really cool move where she drops and he catches her by the neck. And pot stirs a-go-go. Hey, her partner (Pepe) is really hot, can he audition too (Nigel agrees he’s “Bloody good”)? Nigel’s thrilled, Mary loves her sharpness and fellas, Christina belly dances too! Vegas for her. VIDEO.

We end with Phillip Attmore - ANOTHER tap dancer! I’m guessing we’ll definitely have one of tonight’s three tappers in the Top 20. Phillip was Ryan’s roommate in a production of Fosse. He’s a really natural, confident tap dancer. His personality also shines on stage, like Ryan. Tough call but I get the vibe that Phillip may be too old/mature to be in the Top 20. I just don’t know if he’d get the teeny boppers interested. Still, Shankman calls his dancing “effortless” - exactly. Vegas! VIDEO

Next week, So You Think You Can Dance auditions hit Phoenix, AZ and Mia Michaels is the third judge. I hope it’s more interesting than tonight, which was kinda lackluster. And where were all the hip hop and breakdancers?? Maybe it’s just me being a touch critic - were you impressed by the LA auditions?

Oh, sheesh.  It looks like Megan Hauserman will be getting her day in the sun after all.

Following news that leading Megan Wants a Millionaire contestant Ryan Jenkins was accused of murdering his wife and then subsequently committing suicide, the Hauserman VH1 reality dating series was canceled.

Now, seems like the network and aspiring trophy wife are working out another deal.

RadarOnline.com has the scoop:

“VH1 is giving Megan her own reality show,” a source confirms. When the show was abruptly canceled “they promised Megan her own show…that’s how they bought her silence.”

As for the show’s format, the source says it will probably move away from a dating-themed show and will unscripted despite Hauserman asking for a scripted show.

Hmm… Sounds kinda shady, doesn’t it?  I suppose a VH1’s gotta do what it’s gotta do.

Totally not surprised that all it took for Megan Hauserman to keep quiet was the promise of another reality show.  That babe’s been on more reality shows than any publicity whore out there - Rock of Love 2, I Love Money, Rock of Love Charm School, Beauty and the Geek…

An un-scripted non-dating show, eh? What do you think the new one will be about?

[Source: Radar]