‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Hotlanta Edition

When looking at regional hubs New York, L.A., Chicago, and Atlanta, you can count on one thing: Atlanta will always be the least interesting. So we’re going to assume that So You Think You Can Dance producer Nigel Lythgoe put the southern city last because of some annoying frequent-flyer stipulation. Aside from one wonderfully twisted pop-and-lock routine from a short guy with scoliosis, Hotlanta was like a ten-gallon hat with a half-cup of talent. The word on the Web regarding the last leg of auditions?

“What Nigel apparently does want all over his show are female dancers who smother their firm tummies in baby oil halfway through their routine.� [EW]

“Clogger Brandon Norris was warned … they had never put a clogger through. However, there is always a first time for everything.� [Reality TV]

“Will someone please teach the lyrical dance teachers of the country how to choreograph something original? I can no longer objectively judge routines like this, because I can’t keep my eyes open.� [TV Guide]

Next week: Two hundred qualifiers get pared down to twenty. After that, the show really begins. As the official So You Think You Can Dance blog succinctly put it: “Now it’s time to get down to the real gritty stuff, when dancers start spraining muscles and yelling at each other.� —Drew Pisarra