Nigel and Mary were joined by resident Broadway aficionado, Tyce "That Was Baaad" Diorio, and things kicked off with self-proclaimed human rubber band Tony Riendeau, 26, gave a kooky routine set to "Footloose" that garnered such a lethal dose of negative comments from the judges that he needed a medic. But after a few much-needed gasps for air -- and air-time -- he was okay.
Ballroom dancers Janette Manara, 25, and Ramulo Villaverde, 20, showed how much they've improved since getting cut last season with a sexy Latin routine that had the judges blushing and Mary screaming for Nigel to give both performers tickets to Sin City.
Erik "Silky" Moore, 19, delivered a criminally smooth tapping to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," a fun number filled with hip-hopping, popping and breaking delight, and possibly the first ever televised reverse worm! "You threw everything in but the kitchen sink," Nigel declared before handing him a ticket to Vegas!
Finally, an inspired performance from recently widowed Talia Rickards, 24, put the total at 32 dancers who would be competing from Miami, before the search continued in Memphis, where the judges were joined by Los Angeles Krunk legend Lil C.
Police officer Marico Flake, 24, revealed a local secret known as "Memphis Jukin'," a southern hip-hop style based on the King's bouncing moves, sprinkled with some dazzling footwork, that had the judges giving up that ticket to fly.
Dustin Dorough, 22, who says he's a second cousin of Back Street Boy Howie Dorough, managed to "insult" the hip-hop community, according to Nigel, with this attempt at some careful-not-to-break-something-dancing that landed him a solid "no" across the panel.
But that wasn't all -- "Electric" was what Chris Carrozza, 28, called his rave-inspired pogo-dance, which was so off, it forced the show to run a list of unofficial "dos and don'ts" when auditioning.
The show ended on a positive note, though, when last season's top 40 cut, Evan Kasprzak, 21, brought an instant smile to Nigel's face with his old Hollywood moves, while big brother Ryan, 29, tapped his way through as well by using a whoopee cushion of all things. Then, adorable 19-year-old twin sisters Lauren and Lydia Guerra, contemporary dancers out of Dallas, earned the last tickets of the day, making it a total of 21 Memphis dancers going on to Vegas.
Dancers will get a final chance to see if they've got what it takes to make it to Las Vegas when things kick in to high gear as SYTYCD auditions head west to Los Angles and Seattle. -- Jed Dreben
