"Check, one, two." "So you think you can dance is back on the road." "New York, are you ready?" "We're here in Atlanta, Georgia." "These are the Dallas auditions." "Salt lake city, are you ready?" "3, 2, 1, go!" "Once again, our judges are looking for the best of the best." "You've got to walk on here with that confidence." "We're looking for you to be swagged out." "I want to see Booty shaking!" "You take a shot." "You give it all you have." "Whoo-hoo!" "We want you to succeed." "And it's very simple" " You bring yourself." "I had no idea you had that in you." "America's favorite dancer can start out anywhere." "I'm tired of playing the music for people." "I want to be on the dance floor." "I can't let an opportunity like this pass me by." "I may be from a small town, but I've still got some big dreams." "I've dedicated my life to my kids, but now it's my turn." "No matter where they're from, they've got to deliver onstage." "Wow!" "Excuse me, but that was buck!" "After eight seasons, we thought we'd seen it all." "Apparently not." "Get up, let's all dance!" "Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo!" "That was out of this world!" "They brought incredible talent..." "Shut up!" "Shut up!" "And more than a little personality..." "Have you trained in dance?" "Remarkably, I have not." "I feel like I'm watching the greatest show of all time." "Yeah." "That's right." "All fighting for that ticket to Vegas." "You are everything this show is all about." "Vegas!" "Vegas!" "Vegas, Vegas, Vegas, Vegas!" "Get up, let's all dance!" "Hey!" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "From the bright lights of Broadway..." "To the gritty Brooklyn streets...♪ ♪" "This city has a soundtrack all of its own." " It's season nine..." " All of us are stars!" "Whoo!" " And it starts to the beat of..." " New York!" "3, 2, 1, go!" "Hundreds of excited dancers pack into the theater, ready for the judges' arrival." "Joining executive producer Nigel Lythgoe..." "And ballroom expert Mary Murphy in the big apple..." "Was emmy-winning Broadway choreographer Tyce Diorio." "Here's how it's going to work." "Every dancer will perform a solo for the judges." "If they fail to impress..." "I don't feel good when I watch you." "They'll be sent straight home." "Ehhh!" "If the judges are undecided..." "I'm not gonna say yes, and" "I desperately want to." "All right, we'll see you later." "Thank you." "They'll be asked to stay until the end of the day and take part in a round of choreography, but if their solo is truly exceptional..." "Whoo!" "They'll get a plane ticket to the next stage of auditions in Vegas." "I'm going to Vegas, baby!" "Whoo!" "Wherever you're from today, you are representing New York!" "Hoping to kick off the season on a high was contemporary dancer Amelia lowe." "Hello there." "Hello." "Hello, little turned-in feet." "How long have you been dancing?" "Since I was three." "Three, okay." "You're a proper little character already." "Cute." "Have you seen the movie the artist?" "Yes, I have." "Well, we should do your audition in black and white, really, shouldn't we?" "They were filming that outside before." "Oh, really?" "My biggest inspiration for, like, my look, the kind of style of dance I do, even, like, the clothes I wear, stems from the" "1920s." "I just am so fascinated with that whole flapper era, and I love watching silent films." "I loved the heroines and the damsels in distress." "They were so much fun to watch." "I loved the over-dramaticness of it and how theatrical it is." "They're so much like dancers." "They aren't allowed to talk, but they still have to get a message across." "That's where I bring a lot of my inspiration from." "I hope that it makes me stand out so I'm just not like everyone else." "Well, we'd love to see you dance right now." "She's adorable." "Wow, she's adorable." "And cue music." "Whoo!" "Whoo!" "Yep." "Love her." "She's everything, isn't she?" "Oh!" "Oh!" "Whoo-hoo!" "Yeah, girl, go get it!" "Come on!" "Whoo!" "Yeah!" "Yes!" "Have you ever" " Have you ever been to Paris?" "No." "I wish I could so badly." "You've never seen the Eiffel tower?" "Only the picture in my room." "Oh." "'Cause there's an Eiffel tower in Vegas, isn't there?" "Yeah, yeah." "Whoo!" "At the Paris hotel." "Yeah, it's right there on the main strip." "Yeah." "Yeah, exact replica." "It's quite beautiful." "You should see it." "You should see it, yeah." "Coming up, season nine continues to shine..." "Excuse me, but that" "Was buck!" "With incredible hip hop..." "I think you could be a genius." "And world-class ballet..." "I had no idea you had that in you." "As the whole world of dance shows up..." "Yo, the hamster gets the party started." "And shows off." "But not everyone's happy." "You've got a bad attitude, young man." "I don't agree with how y'all run it." "Shall I finish?" "No." "Thank you very much for the day." "Anyone else feels like that, leave with him, please." "Stay tuned for a premiere worth getting excited about." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to so you think you can dance." "It's our season nine premiere here in the empire state." "This city is home to the greatest dance talent on the planet." "And they've come here from all over the world." "Where are you from?" "Originally, I was born in the Ukraine." "I'm from chattanooga, Tennessee." "I'm from council bluffs, Iowa." "And I'm from ponce, Puerto Rico." "I'm from Redding, California." "I just moved to New York." "So you see what dance can do?" "It brings people together from across the world, and here you are." "And all the way from Japan, here's Toshihiko Nagasawa..." "And there he goes." "And he's back." "Uh, it's sunny day." "Yeah." "No cloud" " No cloud ever, yeah." "Hi." "I was born to challenge in America, so I come to New York." "I performed a little bit hip hop, a little bit locking, a little bit popping, a little bit ballet." "Everything." "I hope the judges says to only Las Vegas." "Well, when I finish my show." "Hey!" "What's your name?" "My name is Toshihiko Nagasawa." "I'm sorry I asked." "Thank you, Toshi" " Toshihiko." "Yes." "We look forward to seeing what you have in store for us." "Store for us?" "Yes, what you've got" "We look forward to-- for you-- watching you dance." "To watch you dance." "We are looking forward to seeing what you're going to give us." "Okay." "Yes." "Yeah, okay." "Good." "Thank you." "Go." "Thank you." "Good." "Aw." "Thank you." "So cute." "Okay." "And cue music." "He crawls." "I know." "He's so cool." "Wow." "Beautiful." "Whoa." "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." "Ow!" "Word." "Wow." "There's been very few, uh, people who have entertained me as much as that with that style." "Certainly twitch I put in that category, who you never knew what he was going to do next, uh, and that's what's so enjoyable, that's what is so exciting about watching you dance is, I don't know what you're gonna do next." "And it's original." "So very happy to watch you do that." "Me too." "Me too." "Just enjoy." "You enjoyed it?" "Very, very enjoy." "Yes?" "Good." "Yeah, absolutely, I just loved it, every single second." "Loved it, loved it, loved it." "Loved you." "Thank you very much." "Your-- your body is like a musical instrument." "He's like a puppet." "It's like a puppet." "Yeah, it just does whatever--It did whatever the music was doing, and that is such a gift." "A gift." "Gift." "You have gift." "I have gift." "You have gift." "Okay." "For sure." "I really liked it." "Thank you so much." "Yeah." "I would be delighted if you stick around and do the choreography." "See you later." "See you later." "Yes." "See you later." "He's so sweet." "Thank you." "Arigato!" "So season nine was off to a good start, and the best was yet to come." "He's a New York dance legend, a man who truly has his own style." "Prepare to meet one of the big apple's greatest innovators." "Me?" "Yeah." "Oh, hello." "Like this?" "My name is Austin Freeman, and I am 21 years old, and I will be dancing the wiggle." "My dance is something that no one's ever, ever, ever, ever seen before." "I do the" " The wiggle all over New York City." "It draws attention." "I got everybody's attention going by." "When people see me do the wiggle, they sometimes laugh, sometimes make fun of me." "Sometimes they say I'm a good dancer, or sometimes-- is it okay if I say this?" "" " Videotape me." "Is that okay?" "Okay." "And-- with their phones." "I love him." "Wiggle." "Well, hello." "Test, test, one, two." "You don't-- you don't have to bend down." "It'll pick you up." "Oh." "Well, my name is Austin Freeman." "What do you hope to do with your life?" "To be a celebrity." "To be a celebrity." "Okay." "We're gonna find out right now if you have the Freeman fever or not." "The Freeman fever." "That's my last name, Freeman, fever." "Yes, okay." "And is there a particular dance style that you do?" "It's called Mr. wiggles." "Mr. wriggles." "Mr." " Oh, whoops." "Mr. wiggles." "This is something I invented." "Oh, there's a surprise." "Okay." "All right, okay." "Well, we'd love to see the wiggle right now." "All right." "Thank you." "There we go." "And cue music." "Vegas!" "What'd she say?" "Whoever shouted "Vegas," kick them out now!" "Um... oh, no." "Mary." "Oh, no." "Oh, mercy." "Um... could the-- could the wiggle catch on?" "Listen, Austin, there's very few men that I'd even like to see wiggle, and you're not one of 'em." "I'm sorry." "Uh, Tyce, how'd you feel about that?" "Did you like the way he wiggled?" "No." "I was sad, because I totally liked your personality and I thought, oh, this guy's cool." "He's interesting." "He's an actor." "And then you started dancing, and I was even sadder." "I got sad, much more sad." "What are you doing?" "Um, Austin, what can I say to you?" "You have to do a little more than you've just done." "Cartwheels, back flips." "No, no, no." "You don't have to do that." "You've-- you've just got to be a little more entertaining than standing there, shaking your leg, looking like you're in the middle of an earthquake." "Or shaking my butt?" "You know, it just-- it doesn't-- doesn't sit comfortably." "Maybe it was the wrong song, even, maybe." "Hmm, no." "Please." "It didn't work." "Um, Austin, thank you very much for coming along today, though." "All right, thank you." "Thank you." "I'm probably gonna do, uh, lady gaga, born this way, instead, next time." "I-I-I think that's better." "Danced the wrong song." "Are you serious?" "The wrong song?" "The wrong moves." "Still to come, New York kicks it up a notch..." "I'm getting hot just watching that." "As the empire state dancers flip out for a ticket to..." "Vegas!" "But not everyone seduces the judges." "It's just filthy." "And one contestant is just here for his mom." "She was gasping for air, but whenever she could, she just could say, "I love you, and I'm sorry."" "To think that that could have been the last time she was in my arms, it killed." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to season nine auditions..." "Where, after a mouth-watering start, the big apple's dancers were full of local pride." "New York City is the best place to live and dance." "We have the rawest, most soulful dancers in the world." "I'm coming with something fresh this year." "It's called house-glyphics, and I just want to inspire a lot of people." "This is where you've got to be." "It's the mecca of dance." "♪ New York ♪" "Season nine is definitely my time to shine." "Time to go out there and get what's mine." "New York City is the place to be." "Sorry, L.A." "Word!" "You're going to Vegas!" "Come and get your ticket." "Whoo!" "Whoo!" "I'm going to Vegas." "I'm going." "♪ Whoooooooo ♪" "Hoping to prove that a Philly boy could also hit the heights..." "Was street entertainer Shafiq Westbrook." "I'm 22 years old, and I'm from Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, and I like to flip." "I like to flip off of stuff, I like to flip onto stuff, I like to flip over stuff, I like to flip over people." "I started off with one chair, two chair, three chair, to, like, eight chairs." "I train like a lab rat." "I do a combination of everything-- popping, locking, street dancing, hip hop, breakdancing." "Showmanship is, like, 50% of street performing." "You don't have no showmanship, you're just looked at as somebody on the corner, dancing for no reason." "I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna blow their minds away and" "I'm gonna show them that breakers can also do different styles of dance." "And cue music." "Oh, that's..." "That is great." "Whoa, beautiful." "What we say here every year is, we want to see people that are doing different things." "If we continue seeing the same thing year on year, we're not getting any better as a show." "With what you're doing, you extend this entire program." "It's a pleasure to watch you do what you're doing." "Yeah, you went into your own world, which is a fabulous RLD, at that." "You took some of the power moves down on your, you know, elbows to an artistic level-- holy smokes-- unlike that I've ever seen before." "Um, you're really gifted, and you really need to work on getting in shape, young man, I tell you." "I wasn't" " I wasn't sure what he was gonna balance on next, you know what I mean?" "Yeah, exactly." "You have so much strength and power." "Absolutely outstanding." "Yes." "You move like silk, completely effortless, and that is so loud, you know?" "It's so great." "You're" " I really appreciate your artistry, and-- thank you." "What you did was fantastic." "Thank you." "Can I tell you what that story was?" "I had, uh, a friend who had passed away during 9/11, inside the twin towers, and I was acting as if I was his soul, climbing out-- climbing from under the twin towers." "Wow." "Well, that soul can fly up here, because that soul is flying to Vegas." "My friend would be absolutely proud to see me go forward to" "Vegas because this was his dream too, so I'm going to Vegas, baby." "What?" "And that was it for the day one solos." "As the night fell in New York, it was time for the season's first choreography round." "Japanese locker Toshihiko joined 35 other dancers onstage as season seven's Robert Roldan and season four's Courtney Galiano took them through the steps." "But after 20 minutes, it was obvious that Toshihiko was struggling, and he decided he'd had enough..." "But ten more lucky dancers impressed enough to get that coveted ticket." "You're going to Vegas." "Vegas!" "Vegas!" "Vegas!" "We're going to Vegas, baby!" "Still to come, it's day two in the big apple..." "And as the atmosphere turns rotten..." "It was very uncomfortable to watch." "It's just filthy." "I'll have you arrested." "Get the camera out of her face." "It's going to take something really special to impress." "I suppose if you like that sort of thing." "Yeah." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to New York City!" "It's morning in New York, and after a tasty first day, the judges are ready for another bite of the big apple." "Good morning, Brooklyn!" "First up was Leo reyes, and this was his first shot at making the show." "I had plenty of opportunities to audition." "I never did." "I took it for granted, and I was just dancing back in my hometown." "Why are you auditioning for the show?" "I'm doing this for my mom." "Aw." "Completely." "She's my everything." "I really want to make her proud." "My mom attempted suicide." "I came home one day and I found my mom laying on-- on the couch." "My sister had told me she had taken a whole bottle of pills." "Picking her up and it-- it was almost like a lifeless body in my hands, and I realized this was my mother." "She was gasping for air, but whenever she could, she just could say, "I love you, and I'm sorry," and I was like, "mom, you can't yet." "I haven't danced onstage."" ""You haven't seen me on the big stage yet, mom." "You have to wait till I make it on Broadway or something."" "And I thought to myself, wow, I took this talent, like, so for granted." "I'm 21 years old, and I haven't done anything with it yet that my mom can, like..." "That my mom can say that she's proud of me." "She ended up okay." "She's fine now." "But now I'm in full drive." "Life isn't forever." "You're not guaranteed tomorrow, and I definitely didn't expect that day." "When my mom sees me onstage, it's gonna give her so much more reason to enjoy life, to just enjoy watching her son." "It's gonna give her a reminder of a reason why she should be here." "Mom, this is for you." "I'm going to make you proud." "Te amo." "I love you so much." "And..." "Cue music." "Thank goodness that on this show, we are not in any way, shape, or form, manipulated by the audience behind us." "So you're going to Vegas." "Vegas!" "Thank you so much." "Thank you so much." "Thank you so much." "I got a ticket to Vegas, mom!" "No." "Yes, mom, I got a ticket straight to Vegas!" "I did it mom, I did it." "I did it for you." "Coming up..." "New York ends on a high." "Ridiculous, and sick, and amazing." "Then we move on to Texas where things get seriously weird." "I'm really not sure you're all there." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to so you think you can dance." "We're in New York City and day two is off and running." "Vegas, baby!" "Whoo!" "I'm going to Vegas!" "But back inside the theater, it's starting to look like the big apple's dance talent is all tapped out." "I did not enjoy that at all." "Not at all." "Sorry." "You do realize it is a competitive dance competition?" "You got to bring something more to the table." "I don't even know about that, because it was very uncomfortable to watch." "I'm trying to, like, seduce the audience sort of." "It's just filthy." "The judges were losing their will to live." "It was time for Kian to shake things up." "I'm 22, and I'm from Switzerland." "I'm a ballet dancer, and I've only trained in ballet." "I don't want to just do something balletic, so I'm trying to bring some of my own style into it." "And I hope the judges see my will to dance is really strong." "I want to do more, and I want to go bigger, and that's why I've come to do so you think you can dance." "I think I have what it takes to be on the show." "Cue music." "Whoo." "Whoo!" "Thank you." "Well, I suppose if you like that sort of thing... yeah." "That was okay, huh?" "I guess, if you like that kind of thing." "Perfect, you know." "Yeah." "Great body." "Tyce, what have you got to say?" "I mean, you used to do all of that." "That was... fabulous." "Ridiculous, and sick, and amazing." "Insane." "You know what?" "This level of talent in my opinion-- you can totally disagree." "You" " I think he needs to go to Vegas." "I mean, I just think he's incredible." "Oh, all right." "You're going to Vegas!" "Right." "Give me a hug." "Give me a hug, brother." "Wow!" "Whoo!" "Going to Vegas!" "Whoo!" "And that was it for the New York solos." "After the choreography round wrapped up, 11 more dancers had gotten their hands on that all-important ticket to the next round." "We think you should come to Vegas." "Yeah!" "In total, 38 contestants would be moving on from season nine's first city to sin city." "Come get your ticket." "Thank you, yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "Whoo!" "Still to come..." "The cattle call moves to Texas." "The Dallas dancers don't disappoint." "That was buck." "You're going to go to Vegas because I'll pay for it myself." "But there's a reason you don't mess with Texas." "Nigel..." "I'm coming for you." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" " This state prides itself on being bigger..." " Louder..." "And better than anywhere else." "Sounds like the perfect place to continue season nine's talent search." "These are the Dallas auditions." " Season nine..." " Will blow your mind!" "Joining Nigel and Mary for the Texas tryouts is krumping choreographer Lil' C." "And first to represent is local girl Bree Hafen." "My life in McKinney is busy." "I have a five-year-old boy." "His name is Luke." "Hi." "He's our little spitfire." "I have a two-year-old girl." "Her name is Stella, who loves to dance." "When you become a mother, you want to just give your whole life to your kids." "And when you ever feel like doing something for yourself, you have to deal with a little bit of the guilt involved, because you want to give all of your time to your children." "So getting back into dance was a struggle of "am I worth the time away from my family?"" "I'm not over that guilt yet, but I'm getting there." "Welcome." "What's your name?" "Thank you." "My name is Bree Hafen." "Bree, welcome." "How old are you?" "29." "And where are you from?" "McKinney, Texas." "Okay." "And what do you do for a living?" "I'm a mom." "A mom?" "How many children do you have?" "Two, you see 'em?" "Hey!" "Luke and Stella." "Aw." "Hey." "Stella, by the way, is a phenomenal little dancer." "And what about Luke?" "Oh." "Luke, do you krump?" "He does it on the" " I shuffle." "Yeah, shuffle." "Shuffle." "Come down here." "You can't see your mom." "Come down here." "Come on, darling." "Aw." "Bring your sister down." "Bring your sister down." "We're just going to pop her in this chair." "Whoo." "Mommy's going to dance onstage now." "Okay, let's dance straightaway, shall we?" "All right, let's do it." "Clap, clap for mommy." "Yeah, mama, I love you!" "I love you too." "And cue music." "Go, go, go, go!" "Wow, huh?" "Wow." "She's good." "Yeah." "If I give you something, will you give it to mommy?" "It's going to make me cry." "Oh, you had to go get me going." "Mommy was good, huh?" "You like to dance?" "You want one?" "She's, like, "my turn."" "I've already been-- going-- going up with mommy." "Come on, dad!" "Come on, dad!" "Everybody's coming down." "He's saying, "come on, dad."" "Listen." "Don't touch." "Don't touch." "Apart from-- of all the sugary sweet things with the kids and everything, I've got to say that at the end of it, you are a very, very good dancer." "Thank you." "So let me ask you this." "Why have you left it until now to come onto so you think you can dance?" "What have you been doing with your life?" "Apart from having children." "Yeah." "When you first started airing, I didn't have" " I truly didn't have confidence to do it." "Through the years and having kids and being a mom and being a wife has built up my confidence a little bit." "The last few years, I've either been pregnant or had a newborn." "You see her pointing her toe there." "She's going to be a dancer." "My turn." "She is." "I know, she's-- do you hear what she's saying?" ""My turn, my turn, my turn."" "What she says" "Well..." "Well, we look forward to seeing you in Vegas, and I think it is her turn." "Thank you so much." "If you want to put her down, we'll put some..." "Yes, absolutely." "Put some nice ballet music." "Something... cue music." "Listen to me." "This is the best show ever, that's why." "That's why we do this." "Baby!" "Whoo." "Still to come... after a g-rated start..." "Dallas is about to get less kid-friendly." "I'm coming for you." "Yeah!" "Plus, it's only our second city." "And already, we've discovered another new dance craze." "Have you trained in dance?" "Remarkably, I have not." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to so you think you can dance." "It's our season nine premiere and auditions have just kicked off in Dallas where day one is off to the best possible start." "And the whole theater is shuffling in celebration." "Outside..." "Ready to darken the mood were two seriously twisted individuals." "Hampton "the xcercist"" "Williams." "I'm 21." "I'm from Dallas, Texas." "My style is called exorcist style." "And Stefan "the zombie"" "Stuart." "I'm 21, I'm from Katy, Texas." "And Nigel..." "I'm coming for you." "Something that influenced my style is horror films and movies." "My dancing actually comes from my imagination, 'cause I watch a lot of cartoons, and I play a lot of video games." "Basically, I can take people's souls from different places." "I crush up the spirit." "It goes through my veins." "And then when I give you back your soul, you're going to look at life in a totally different way." "You thought you could escape me." "You'll never be able to escape me." "The eyes are the most important 'cause when I look at you, you're going to be scared." "First in front of the judges was Stefan "the zombie" Stuart." "Cue music." "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Oh, no." "Yeah!" "Whoa." "Yes!" "Wow." "Yeah!" "Whoo-whee!" "That's what I wanted to see!" "Oh!" "You know, I love my job." "Wow." "I'll tell you what." "Yeah." "I love my job!" "I don't really know where to begin with something like that." "I don't know how many hours you've put into that-- of the story, but when you roll your eyes back into your head, it scares the hell out of me." "I'm" " I'm really not sure you're all there." "No, I'm" " I'm not." "But I don't care, because that was just one of the most entertaining routines that I think I've seen." "Absolutely." "I mean, talk about-- and that was a hard act to follow with the kids and everything." "But let me tell you, you have been extraordinary." "Thank you." "You're a sca-- you're just a scary little wild creature up there, and I love every second of it." "Thank you." "Yo, all I got to say is I love my job." "Like, it's cr-- this is the reason, like, all the hours I have put in, like, all of the nos I've ever heard, just the-- just the countless amount of intense focus I have devoted to the art of dance and" "movement, seeing performers like yourself, you guys are the reason why I continue to do what I do." "So thank you!" "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." "All glory to God." "Thank you." "Do you gamble?" "Gamble?" "Um..." "Depends." "We're going to take that gamble." "We're going to take that gamble." "Good man, absolutely brilliant." "Thank you." "So Stefan's horror hip-hop has earned him a ticket to Vegas." "And after the break..." "The second of our terrifying Texas twosome takes the stage." "As "the xcercist" delivers one of the most unforgettable auditions in nine seasons." "I think you could be a genius." "So good." "Take it." "Take it." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to Dallas..." "Where spooky hip-hop dancer" "Stefan is starting out his slightly uncomfortable journey to Vegas." "Meanwhile, back in the theater, it's time for Hampton" ""the xcercist" Williams to try and steal the limelight and the judges' souls." "What's your name?" "My name is Hampton Williams." "I have created my own style." "It's called exorcist style." "When I actually do it, I can take your pain and your fear, and I can interpret it, and you won't have it no more." "You know?" "Wow." "And when I give you your soul back, then you're going to look at life in a different aspect." "So you cleanse us." "Yes." "You're starting to scare me, Hampton, a little bit now." "We look forward to seeing this." "Okay, ladies and gentlemen." "Cue music." "Who would've thought this music?" "Yeah." "For an exorcism." "Whoa." "Wow." "Yeah!" "Yeah." "Buck." "Take it." "Take it." "Whoo." "Whoo." "That's how it's done." "You just got a standing ovation from everyone in the house." "You've made Mary Murphy cry." "You are an artist." "I think you could be a genius." "Yeah." "You-- you really have created something quite unusual there." "How you will get on in a dance competition like this show" "I don't give a, to be honest with you." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Whether they say yes or no, you're going to go to Vegas, because I'll pay for it myself." "All right, Mary." "In nine seasons, I haven't been affected that way by that particular style." "Shoot." "I had no idea you had that in you, and when you came down and you just-- when you just-- you so affected me when you came down here in front, and you slowed everything down and just spelled it all out." "I tell you, I feel like I've been exorcised." "Hampton, you gave me the whammy, brother!" "Thank you so much." "Okay, Lil' C." "What about that?" "Yo, don't take it the wrong way, but I want to kick you in your face right now." "Like, yo, I mean-- excuse me, but that was buck." "Yeah!" "Yo." "That right there, when it comes to freestyle from the heart and the soul, and creating something that nobody has seen before and really trying to move people, that's what I'm about." "So when I see that and you coming to an arena in a realm like this, and you don't have a problem putting yourself on this platform to be judged, man, hats off to you." "Hats off... thank you." "All day." "I enjoyed every millisecond of that performance." "Yeah." "Loved it." "Come on, get this ticket." "I cried." "Yeah." "Cried." "Thank you so much." "Thank you so much." "You're brilliant." "You're absolutely brilliant." "Oh, right there!" "Vegas!" "Vegas!" "Whoo!" "Vegas!" "Wow." "I don't know about you guys, but I feel really honored to have seen that." "I really do." "And as the day went on, Dallas continued to deliver." "You're wonderful." "I loved your performance." "Pleasure, joy to watch." "I thought you were..." "Amazing." "We were only halfway through our second city, but already season nine was looking to be competitive." "I'm really sorry." "You have a lot more to learn." "And you're going to learn it in Vegas!" "You're going to Vegas." "Five dancers had earned tickets straight through to Vegas." "And after the choreography round, five more..." "Well, come get your ticket." "Were joining them." "Come down here!" "Come down!" "Oh, I hear scream-- oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, whoa!" "I think she's okay." "Coming up..." "It's day two in the lone star state." "Prepare for another wave of talent." "You are one of the buckest individuals I've seen all day." "Well, don't just stand there!" "Come and get your ticket!" "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to so you think you can dance." "It's day two here in Dallas." "All right, everybody." "Texas!" "And a new Texas-sized crowd of excited dancers are getting ready to show off their moves." "Season nine!" "The judges arrived still on a high after a great first day." "The crowd is buzzing and ready to go." "It was down to Nigel to give everyone a reality check." "Let's be honest." "That's about as close as some of you will get to this ticket right now." "Which put even more pressure on our first contestant of the day." "My name's Daniel Baker." "And I'm originally from newcastle, Australia, but I currently live in San Francisco." "I love San Francisco." "It's such a unique city." "I grew up in a small town in Australia." "My father bought me a book when I was about seven years old on the U.S." "I think it's so crazy how one book has the ability to change your whole life." "This book had pictures of these massive buildings, and that's when I told myself, you know, I want to move to America." "The only way to do that was to become a ballet dancer, because" "I could get a sponsored visa that way." "So I kind of transformed myself into a ballet dancer." "Now I'm living with the San Francisco ballet." "People would think I'm crazy giving up a well-paying salary, but this is my time." "I feel like so you think you can dance is a great pathway for me to learn what I haven't been able to learn in the ballet world." "Good day, mate." "How's it going?" "Yeah, good." "So" "Please." "It's only a man without a shirt on, for goodness' sake." "Sorry, I lost it." "Wow." "What's your name?" "Daniel Baker." "Daniel Baker." "How old are you?" "I'm 23." "Where are you from?" "I'm originally from newcastle, Australia." "Australia." "Yeah." "And what style of dance do you do?" "I'm a ballet dancer, but I'm mainly a contemporary ballet dancer." "A belly dancer?" "Bal-let." "A ballet dancer." "Ballet." "I'm sorry." "I thought you were going to do something, you know, "wow."" "You know." "We'd love to see you dance right now." "Okay, good luck." "Thank you." "And..." "Cue music." "Wow." "Hello." "Vegas, Vegas, Vegas, Vegas!" "Vegas, Vegas, Vegas!" "Okay, um..." "Daniel, I'm" " I'm not going to let" " I'm not going-- would you mind sitting down, sir?" "I'm not going to let any of that cheering affect me in any way in what I'm going to say." "Um, yeah." "It's all right." "I mean, it was kind of good if you like that kind of thing." "Yeah." "C?" "I guess it was kind of like semi-buck." "You know?" "Semi." "I mean, if you want to come to Vegas, I suppose you can." "Sorry about the joke." "Thank you." "That was just-- Congratulations." "Oh, man, good job." "Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too." "That's scary." "So day two is off to a great start." "Despite the sarcasm, Daniel was clearly a hit with the judges..." "Whoo!" "And the local girls." "And as the morning went on, those girls proved they weren't just here to cheer." "For lack of a better term, it was extremely buck." "Anybody tell you you're a really, really good dancer?" "I would pick up a telephone for you." "Thank you." "I thought it was superb." "The one thing that shocked me was that the audience weren't shouting "Vegas" at any point, because that's where you're going." "Give her a ticket to Vegas, Nigel!" "You're going to Vegas." "Well, don't just stand there." "Come and get a ticket!" "Whoo!" "It was a great run for the girls." "I almost broke my toe." "And Sam Sheffler was going to need his best moves to match them." "Like, a little bit of this and a like bit of that, and a dash of that." "I'm hoping to impress the judges just like that." "Hello, there." "Hi." "How are you?" "Nervous." "Nervous?" "What's your name?" "My name is Sam Sheffler." "And where are you from?" "I'm from lubbock, Texas." "What are you doing in lubbock, Texas at the moment?" "I'm currently studying at the Burkhart transition academy for autism students and research." "Okay, excellent." "You were diagnosed with autism?" "I am in the autism spectrum, but the symptoms fluctuate to a point where it's not concrete." "And what are the symptoms?" "Like, my memory can be addled." "Sometimes I feel like a social wallflower." "Well, coming along here stops you being any kind of social wallflower." "The very fact that you've got the guts to get up on that stage, young man..." "Yes, sir." "And the way... yeah." "And the way you're handling yourself in answering questions and everything else-- certainly the center is doing you remarkable proud." "Mm-hmm." "Have you trained in dance?" "Remarkably, I have not." "Okay." "And so what style do you call this that you're gonna do for us?" "It's called lyrical freestyle." "We look forward to seeing it." "Thank you." "Thank you." "And cue music." "Thank you very much." "Well, Sam." "What swarm of wasps were you fighting off?" "I was acting like an ocean that was full of waves and stuff." "Everyone is very proud of you there." "Everyone, I think." "How does it make you feel when you're dancing?" "Well, it makes me feel like that I'm free to express myself." "Yes." "And just to let myself go to-- Whatever you do, do not stop dancing..." "Yes, sir." "Because it comes out of you." "It just comes out of you." "Yeah." "This really does mean a great deal." "It's a no for me today, I have to say, to move on to choreography or anything, but I do not want you to stop in any way, shape, or form." "Yes, I won't let it go." "Sam, it's a" " It's a no for me to choreography today, but I" "Don't-- don't be sad." "Be proud of what you did today." "Yes." "Hats off to you." "You are one of the buckest individuals I've seen all day." "Thank you." "Yeah." "Thank you." "So let's see everybody doing the ocean." "Fantastic!" "You created that here in this room." "You got a standing "o" from all of us." "Congratulations." "I love that." "I love that." "Getting a standing ovation-- holy cow." "Amazing." "It was a great day." "Still to come..." "The Dallas auditions wrap up in mixed fashion, with the good..." "Absolutely, thoroughly, delightful." "The bad..." "You are the worst person and attitude that we've had on the show." "And the cuddly." "♪ Nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "♪ nah nah nah nah ♪" "♪ so you think you can ♪" "♪ dance ♪" "Welcome back to so you think you can dance." "We're here in Dallas." "It's midway through day two, and the dancers are as enthusiastic as ever." "I'm so happy to be here!" "So you think you can dance is honestly the reason why I started dancing." "I've been dreaming about auditioning for this show since before I was even good at dance." "I know that this program will help me grow so much." "I'm someone who grew up watching this show, and I cannot tell you how influential it is to people." "Soyouthinkyou can dance just embodies everything I love about dance." "Like, can I honestly speak my mind right now?" "Go for it." "All right, this show is-- it crushes people." "That's all it does." "Like, if I wasn't on a contract, I would bash this show like every day of my life." "My name is Von kipper." "I am a 22-year-old b-boy from Houston, Texas." "Why are you auditioning for the show?" "I'm actually against auditioning for the show." "Why?" "If you look at a lot of other b-boys that are on here, and they're just trying to impress the judges with flashy moves and power moves and tricks and trying to be cute for them 'cause it's a TV show." "I don't care for the TV show, so..." "I can impress them with my style and who I am." "Or a gerbil outfit?" "Don't need it." "Yo, the hamster gets the party started." "Do I need a gimmick?" "No, because I'm super dope without it." "So what would you like to do if you did the show and, uh, you did well, what would you like to do?" "'Cause you don't really want to-- it's not the show you want to be a part of really, is it?" "The reason why I don't want to be a part of it is just because I didn't want to be that kind of person to sacrifice themselves for mainstream success." "I don't care for the show that-- so why should we put you on it then?" "If I get cut, I'm not gonna care." "Like, I'm gonna say, "oh, okay, cool."" "Good, because I pretty much guarantee you will be." "That's cool." "I'm just gonna go back home and practice." "Good stuff, go on then." "Take your-- take your gerbil outfit and get out of here." "It's a hamster." "Hello." "How are you today?" "Good, thank you very much." "What is your name?" "My name is Von." "All my friends call me legend." "Von legend what?" "Kipper." "Kipper is" " German." "Is-- is a fish in england." "It's also a German word." "I understand that you've said that you don't actually like the show so you think you can dance." "No, I like the show, but at the same time, I don't agree with how y'all run it sometimes." "What do you mean by that?" "For instance, the ocean guy..." "Yeah." "Like, to be honest, no form or technique, and I think that there are harder working people who deserve that position." "Do you not feel as though if people come up there with that good energy with that..." "No." "Good spirit..." "No, it's a dance competition." "Let me finish, let me finish." "Sorry." "You've said what you've said." "Let me finish." "With that good energy and that good spirit that entertained the audience, do you not feel as though that should be allowed to be a free spirit?" "I" " I understand that, but this is also what y'all are promoting are high-level dancers." "Did-- has he got through to Vegas?" "The audience enjoyed it." "We're here to entertain." "Let's-- let's dance, shall we?" "All right." "Let me try to bring y'all into my world a little bit." "I'm ready." "And cue music." "Okay, thank you." "C?" "I think you let your conversation with Nigel hinder your performance." "A little bit." "Being a street dancer, focus is everything, and once you're out of it, there's no way to really get back." "I really wasn't expecting to be questioned on my opinions on something like this, so I really did-- like you said, it threw me off." "Mary?" "Yeah, outside of the couple power moves, I didn't really find it entertaining." "It was very spastic-like and just throwing yourself all over the place." "The intricacy-- you look like it's throwing there, but" "It's really just intricate patterns." "No, I didn't see that." "Yeah." "At the end of the day, your dancing has got to be at the top." "Not your mouth, your dancing." "You can't talk a good game and not bring a good game." "Lil' c has said the most important thing to you, which is focus on your dancing." "Don't worry about kids doing the ocean and people enjoying themselves." "That got-- that-- shall I finish-- I didn't say anything." "Are you going to let me finish?" "I didn't say anything." "You've got a bad attitude, young man." "You've got a bad attitude." "And you just got to" "You just got to listen." "Just relax." "I came up here with the upmost energy and positive attitude until y'all questioned me on my opinions." "I didn't-- No, no, no." "You never came up here with a positive attitude, young man." "I did." "I thought I came up here really happy." "Listen." "I'm the one they love booing." "They're booing you at the moment." "You are the worst person in attitude that we've had on this show." "What you said to cat was disgusting." "You're only using this show to get on because" "No, I saw that opportunity." "That's all." "Thank you very much for today." "Should have stayed a gerbil." "Hamster." "The mood in the lone star state hit sour." "He just wants to get on TV." "Anyone else feels like that, leave with him please." "Nothing was going to phase Dallas's final contestant," "Jarell Rochelle." "Most people would be nervous, but I'm more ready to, like, rock this thing, because I have so much inspiration and revolving around it." "Like, I have to give it my all today." "There-- there is no, like, "okay, what if you go home?"" "Like, I've made it up in my mind that I'm just ready to go." "What's your name?" "Jarell Rochelle." "It rhymes." "Ah!" "Great, great." "I'm ready." "I'm ready today." "Great." "Tell us about your family." "Are they supportive of your dancing?" "Oh, yes, yes." "My family's been there." "They're actually out in the audience right now." "And my mom's back there watching." "She's the reason why I'm here today and why it was so important to me that I do something with this dance before she goes blind." "And so" " What?" "She's been diagnosed with a" " Eye disease." "It's called best disease." "And so the doctor said that she was going to go blind by 40, but she's still seeing today." "Like, over time it's becoming worse and worse, and she's having trouble driving at night." "And so, I decided for a year, you know, I was going to give it my all, and I was going to put every sweat drop, blood drop, tear drop into seeing this dream come true, so..." "Mom, can you see all right from there?" "No, she can't." "Oh, come on down then." "Come on." "There you go." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "Don't touch my water." "It's vodka." "Here we go." "And cue music." "Okay." "Thank you." "I love you." "Jarell, that-- that was absolutely, thoroughly delightful." "It was a joy to watch." "It was" " I didn't want it to stop, it was one of things that you engrossed me from the beginning." "I loved the song, loved the way you used that music." "The way that in parts you mimed, in other parts you danced." "Your smile is engrossing." "I mean, without question, it just beams across here and sucks everybody in." "Yeah, I would have picked up the telephone for you." "No question about that, Jarell." "Thank you." "C?" "Every millisecond of that performance just touched me." "And that was great." "I love, love, love talent, but what I love more than talent is when talent meets skill." "It leaves me spellbound." "I am a fan, and I love that." "I loved your performance." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Jarell, look at what you've done today." "You know, that was complete entertainment from beginning to end." "Thank you." "Would you mind taking this and giving it to him?" "To have my mom right there in the front, it made me feel like I was dancing directly for her." "There was nobody else there but her." "No judges, no nothing." "Just her." "Vegas!" "And with that, the Dallas solo auditions were over." "And after the evening's choreography round..." "Come and get your ticket!" "Seven more dancers were on a plane to sin city." "You're both going to Vegas!" "I'm going to Vegas!" "Yeah!" "Next week, we hit Los Angeles for the most spectacular auditions of the season." "Your dancing is stunning." "With moves so hot..." "Wow." "Coo coo ca Choo, Mrs. Robinson." "That they'll have you seeing double." "You can dance." "Yeah." "That's right." "So hold on tight." "Whoo hoo!" "Because it's going to be..." "Vegas!" "Vegas!" "One wild ride." "That's how that's supposed to be done." "Your dad wanted you to be baseball players?" "Baseball, football players." "We were good." "We played really good." "Said, "you got to pick one or the other."" "We said, "we'll dance.""