So You Think You Can Dance narrowed the field down to 20 contestants Thursday night to wrap up the Las Vegas auditions. Unfortunately, Alex Wong, a soloist with Miami City Ballet, won’t be among them. Wong was one of the strongest dancers to audition for the show and expressed an eagerness to develop other styles of dance, but executive producer Nigel Lythgoe reported that Miami City Ballet could not release Wong from his contract so that he could participate.
When asked for comment, Edward Villella, founding artistic director of Miami City Ballet, released a statement about the decision, "Miami City Ballet is very proud of Alex Wong’s accomplishments as a dancer and it is no surprise to us that he would advance in a competition such as So You Think You Can Dance. Alex recently signed a contract with Miami City Ballet for our upcoming season. We were unaware that he would be participating in the TV show and, in the meantime, a great deal of planning had already gone into our upcoming productions. Alex, who was recently promoted to Principal Soloist, will be an important part of the quality dance that we produce. Miami City Ballet wishes the best for Alex and all of our dancers. Whenever possible we try to be flexible and allow them to explore other opportunities. In this instance it was not possible."
The top 20 finalists:
Asuka Kondoh
Dance Specialty: Latin Ballroom
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Currently Resides: Irvine, CA
Kondoh loves swimming, golf and tennis and has played piano for 13 years. She is a graduate of University of California, Irvine, and has worked as a Latin ballroom instructor for the last two years.
Janette Manrara
Dance Specialty: Salsa
Hometown: Miami, FL
Currently Resides: Hialeah, FL
Manrara began performing in musical theater at age 12 and started her formal dance training at 19, studying ballroom, ballet, pointe, jazz and hip hop. She currently attends Florida State University.
Karla Garcia
Dance Specialty: Jazz/Contemporary
Hometown: Oxon Hill, MD
Currently Resides: Brooklyn, NY
Garcia is a graduate of New York University. Her early dance experience included learning traditional Filipino folk dancing. Garcia performed on Broadway in Hot Feet, danced in the ensemble of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and went on to tour with Wicked.
Kayla Radomski
Dance Specialty: Jazz/Contemporary
Hometown: Aurora, CO
Currently Resides: Aurora, CO
Radomski has been dancing for most of her life, and participating in SYTYCD is one of her most rewarding experiences. She is grateful to her amazing mother who has supported her love of dance for so many years. Radomski also enjoys acting and singing.
Caitlin Kinney
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
Currently Resides: Annapolis, MD
Kinney graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts in 2005. She danced at North Carolina Dance Theatre as an apprentice for two years and is an experienced gymnast.
Randi Evans
Dance Specialty: Jazz
Hometown: Orem, UT
Currently Resides: Springville, UT
Evans began dancing at an early age and performed in the closing ceremonies at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. She currently attends Utah Valley University where she is majoring in elementary education.
Jeanine Mason
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Miami, FL
Currently Resides: Pinecrest, FL
A recent graduate of the Ransom Everglades School, Mason plans to attend the University of California, Los Angeles in the fall. She began her dance training in ballet and lyrical and went on to study jazz, acrobatics, hip hop, modern and contemporary.
Ashley Valerio
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Mesa, AZ
Currently Resides: North Hollywood, CA
Valerio has been dancing for most of her life. She is a graduate of Mountain View High School.
Paris Torres
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Issaquah, WA
Currently Resides: Issaquah, WA
Torres is a graduate of Skyline High School. She began dancing when she was six years old and now teaches at a studio near her home. She was also a Miss Washington Teen pageant winner, and a Seattle Storm and Seattle Sonic Junior dancer from 2000-2003.
Melissa Sandvig
Dance Specialty: Ballet
Hometown: Los Alamitos, CA
Currently Resides: Los Alamitos, CA
Sandvig has been dancing for most of her life. She has danced with the Milwaukee Ballet Company, LA Opera, Long Beach Ballet and Helios Dance Theater. A highlight for Sandvig was performing Le Coeur Illumine at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Ade Obayomi
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Chandler, AZ
Currently Resides: Orange County, CA
Obayomi has been dancing since he was six years old. He is a graduate of Corona Del Sol High School and currently attends Chapman University. His dance highlight was performing at Radio City Music Hall.
Brandon Bryant
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Miami, FL
Currently Resides: Salt Lake City, UT
Bryant began dancing ballet at age 10. He is a graduate of Coral Reef Senior High School and now attends Miami Dade College. His most memorable dance experience was performing for Madonna at her daughter’s birthday party.
Max Kapitannikov
Dance Specialty: Latin Ballroom
Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Currently Resides: Brooklyn, NY
Kapitannikov has been dancing for as long as he can remember. He comes from a dancing family and his mother is a ballet teacher. He also enjoys sculpting and playing the guitar. He attended Manhattan Comprehensive High School.
Tony Bellissimo
Dance Specialty: Hip Hop
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Currently Resides: Buffalo, NY
Bellissimo has been dancing for most of his life. He is a graduate of Frontier High School and played on the school’s soccer, football and lacrosse teams. He likes to write short stories and poems, and his favorite professional dancer is Barry Lather.
Jonathan Platero
Dance Specialty: Salsa
Hometown: Sanford, FL
Currently Resides: New York, NY
Platero was a gymnast before he began dancing at age 16. He is a graduate of Seminole High School, was a World Salsa finalist in 2006-2007 and performed as a dancer and acrobat in High School Musical.
Evan Kasprzak
Dance Specialty: Broadway
Hometown: West Bloomfield, MI
Currently Resides: West Bloomfield, MI
Kasprzak graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School and currently attends Illinois Wesleyan University. He has been dancing since he was six years old and his most memorable dance experience was performing in a Gregory Hines tribute with Hines’ family in the audience.
Vitolio Jeune
Dance Specialty: Contemporary
Hometown: Pétionville, Haiti
Currently Resides: Miami, FL
Jeune began dancing at age 18 and is a graduate of Florida’s New World School of the Arts. He loves motorcycles and his favorite dancer is Desmond Richardson.
Jason Glover
Dance Specialty: Lyrical/Contemporary
Hometown: Fresno, CA
Currently Resides: Fresno, CA
Glover began dancing at age 12, studying tap and hip hop. He is a graduate of Bullard High School and his favorite dancer is Michael Jackson.
Kupono Aweau
Dance Specialty: Lyrical/Contemporary
Hometown: Honolulu, HI
Currently Resides: Kailua, HI
Aweau graduated from the Kamehameha Schools and has been dancing since he was 16 years old. He loves his home state of Hawaii and is an avid collector of home furnishings.
Phillip Chbeeb (Yes, that Phillip Chbeeb.)
Dance Specialty: Popping
Hometown: Houston, TX
Currently Resides: Los Angeles, CA
Chbeeb has had no formal dance training, but began dancing when he was 15 years old. At age 16, he founded the Marvelous Motion Studio in Houston. He is currently an engineering physics major at Loyola Marymount University.
The 20 contestants will give their first performances next Wednesday, June 10, on Fox (8 p.m.–10 p.m. ET/PT).
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