So You Think You Can Dance 2022 Recap: Season 17 Auditions 1

After a two-year hiatus, SYTYCD is back with some familiar faces old and new! As always, Cat Deeley will be hosting the show, but this season, we’ve got three brand new judges! The show will be welcoming former SYTYCD runner-up tWitch, Dance Moms alum JoJo Siwa, and Glee’s Matthew Morrison to the judge’s table.

Tonight will start with the first chunk of auditions, so here we go!

Konnor Kelly – 19 – New York

Konnor started teaching at his mother’s dance school after graduating high school, and says he’s been waiting his whole life for this moment.

Konnor auditions with a Contemporary performance to “What A Wonderful World.” He incorporates a hint of breakdancing throughout his contemporary flips and sprints and finishes with a backflip.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes.

Samuel “Hooliboy” Kyei – 27 – West Africa

We see _ inform his family at the dinner table that he’ll be auditioning for the show.  He says his parents were devastated when he chose dance over education.

Samuel dances an Afro Dance ad moves similarly to the way tWitch often dances. This audition and Samuel’s moves were definitely unique and memorable.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes.

Blake Rhodes – 18 – Oregon

Blake says he was bummed when SYTYCD went off the air but he’s pumped it came back just in time for him to turn 18.

Blake performs a Tap routine during a back-from-he-break montage.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes.

Jordan Betscher – 24 – Ohio

Jordan performs Jazz.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes.

Rachel Lockhart – 21 – Alabama

Rachel performs Contemporary.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes.

Jerome Cunanan – 24 – Philippines

Jerome performs Hip Hop with a lot of flips to end the montage.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes.

Anna Miller – 18 – California

Anna also says she’s excited SYTYCD came back the year she turned 18, and hope tWitch enjoys her dancing because it’s “weird.” She also says she loves racing fast cars.

Anna performs what looks like a tWitch version of a contemporary, with a combination of flowy and robotic movements.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes.

Anastasiia Gavriukhova – 29 – New York

Anastasiia says she grew up in Russia and that Hip Hop gives her a feeling that she doesn’t have to be afraid of who she is.

Props for Anastasiia for being able to do that popping/Hip Hop routine in heels. Personally, the routine was a little confusing and not as good as I was expecting.

tWitch says no, JoJo says no, Matthew says no.

Anastasiia thanks them and then asks tWitch if he wants to battle her in popping and the two have a battle.

Dakota Pizzi and Misha Randelovic – 24 and 29 – New Jersey

The two say they at first said no to dancing with each other but now have been dancing together for four years, and have been married for three and a half.

The couple perform a ballroom routine that started out like a Cha Cha but then a lift happened and it ended like an Argentine Tango.

tWitch says yes to both, JoJo says no to both, Matthew says yes to Dakota and no to Misha.

Maci Montez – 19 – California

*paragraph contains mentions of suicide* Maci says she’s a mental health advocate and was first diagnosed with depression and had moments of her life where she considered ending her life. But once she got out of that hole, she got back into dances and calls dance her light.

Maci auditions with Contemporary with a lot of tWitch-esque moves, telling a story with both her movements and her facial expressions.

tWitch says yes, JoJo says yes, Matthew says yes. 

What a fun premiere! Catch me back here next Wednesday for the second episode of auditions!