Last night was the final round of solo auditions on “So You Think You Can Dance,” and it’s safe to say the competition was fierce. After all, who doesn’t want to be America’s Favorite Dancer? But before we head on to the next round of the competition, we have to recap the standout performances from all the dancers who made it through.
Ali Deucher
Twenty-three-year-old Ali Deucher came to “SYT” auditions with some serious creds under her belt—including dancing last year with Katy Perry in Las Vegas. But after last night’s episode, she has another item to tack on to her resumé: a standing ovation from the three judges—Comfort Fedoke, Allison Holker, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy—and a place in the choreography round.
Jaylin Sanders
We have three words: isolations, isolations, isolations. That’s about all that comes to mind after watching Jaylin’s audition.
The judges seemed to agree, with Comfort even shouting out the skill during the middle of Jaylin’s performance. Allison gave Jaylin an “absolute yes,” and Maksim and Comfort joined her to give Jaylin three yeses, and a spot in the choreography round.
Mariyah Hawkins
Twenty-one-year-old Mariyah first joined the “SYT” fam when she auditioned for “The Next Generation” back in 2016. But she’s back in 2024 older, wiser, and trying to be kinder to herself—something we absolutely love to see.
There was some disagreement between the judges when it came to Mariyah’s performance, though. Judge Maksim said that he wanted to see more of Mariyah’s personality when she performed, but Allison disagreed. Despite that, all three judges gave Mariyah a yes, and sent her on to the next round.
Anthony Curley
It’s rare that the “SYT” judges don’t want to give critiques—that’s their job, after all. But 18-year-old Anthony Curley’s performance was the kind of rare that left judge Comfort unwilling to give any critique.
She was joined by Maksim, who called Anthony the “Lebron James of dance,” and Allison, who didn’t want Anthony’s performance to end. Needless to say, Anthony received three yeses from the judges.
Lihi Catriel
Lihi brought the funk—the jazz funk, that is. However, the judges had some concerns. Maksim seemed worried about Lihi’s range, though she assured him that she had training in all different styles of dance. And while Lihi did receive a yes from all three, Allison made it clear that her yes wasn’t coming easily, and that she wanted to see more from Lihi in the next round.
Julian Carmolinga
Twenty-seven-year-old Julian came to auditions with something heavy on his heart: He grew up in Chicago, surrounded by gang violence. His hope is that, with dance, he can help inspire the next generation to escape their own adversities.
That emotion came through in his performance. Allison told him that she could feel his pain when he danced. Julian received a yes from all three judges.
Juicy Love Dion
We were beyond excited to see Juicy Love take to the “SYT” stage for a dazzling drag performance. She brought the energy, the personality, the acrobatics—and she did it in heels.
Juicy got a standing ovation from the judges, with Allison calling her performance the “full package.” It was a yes from all three judges, and Juicy made it onto the next round. Shantay, you stay!
Victor Ramos
Thirty-year-old Victor is coming into “SYT” just under the wire. After all, 30 is the upper age limit for contestants on the show. But for Victor, his audition wasn’t just a last chance, it was a new beginning.
Victor’s performance earned the final standing ovation of auditions, and we could see why. But Maksim wanted to make sure that even at 30, Victor was still willing to learn and take in more. Victor said yes, and, in return, it was a yes from all three judges.
With that, auditions were over, and we had our full slate of dancers heading to the next round. Next week, these 35 talented performers will head to the choreography round, where we’ll see 35 turn into 10.
