All the contestants that made it through So You Think You Can Dance Auditions: Day 1 in season 18
By Sabrina Reed
So You Think You Can Dance is back with its eighteenth season! With this brand new season comes a new panel of judges and a new format. Dancing with the Stars alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy as well as SYTYCD alums Comfort Fedoke and Allison Holker have been tapped to usher in the latest wave of hopefuls looking to launch their careers through the competition.
Season 18 will see the contestants vying to earn a spot in the Top 10 and the chance to win $100,000. Monday, March 4 kicked off the Audition portion of the season as the judges worked to narrow down the competition. They're looking for industry ready dancers and superstars who could truly benefit from the series through the challenges they'll have to face like learning how to perform in a football halftime show or on Broadway, just to name a few.
Who made it through Day 1? Here's all the contestants that won the judges' favor and will continue on in the season!
So You Think You Can Dance contestants moving on to the next round
Roman Nevinchany
Age: 26
Hometown: Kiev, Ukraine
Song: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" by James Brown
The Latin ballroom dancer initially auditioned on his own which wasn't well received by Maksim because 50% of that style of dancing is based on partner work. So, Maksim chose to dance with Roman before going off to look for a female ballroom dancer for him to partner with. Roman received yeses from all three judges after he redid his dance and showed his expertise in connecting with a dance partner.
Easton Magliarditi
Age: 19
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Song: "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims
This was Easton's second time auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance. At nine years old, he'd tried out for Next Generation, the junior version of the competition, but he wasn't up to the caliber of his fellow dancers. Now, ten years later, he is trying out as an adult. Easton blew the judges away with his contemporary dance. He's a very athletic dancer and his routine impressed the judges so much that he received a yes from them all.
Olivia Alboher
Age: 22
Hometown: Totowa, NJ
Song: "Solitude" by Ryuichi Sakamoto
While Olivia has a large following on TikTok (2.2M and counting) as a content creator, she dreams of returning to the Broadway stage after having been cast in Billy Elliott at 11 years old. There'd been concern that because she was a social media dancer that she wouldn't be able to perform at a larger scale and project to an audience, but Olivia proved the judges wrong with her contemporary routine. Her skill and difficulty level was more than apparent, earning her three yeses.
Oshae "King Wavy" Young
Age: 28
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Song: "Jump" by Kriss Kross
Oshea is a breaker who was first inspired to dance by the movie You Got Served. His passion for dance in strong enough for him to be willing to risk his health since he has an arrhythmia, otherwise known as an irregular heartbeat. Though he had to get a pacemaker put in his heart, he hasn't stopped dancing. The judges felt like he could bring more heat and weren't sure how he'd translate other dance styles, however, Allison and Comfort said yes while Maksim voted no.
Dakayla Wilson
Age: 18
Hometown: Tampa, FL
Song: "Saoko" by Rosalía
Dakayla pairs her gymnastic abilities with dance. The judges were hype about her routine because she's clearly a dancer who could be working right now because her skill level is high enough and she has the 'It' factor that's needed to sustain a career in the industry. All three of the judges gave her a resounding yes.
Jin Lee
Age: 24
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Song: "lovely" by Billie Eilish and Khalid
Jin married three styles of dance--bone breaking, Chinese folk, and waving--for a performance that brought Allison to tears. The dancer wanted to honor her father who'd recently passed. She also took a moment to speak to Allison's strength and grace as she's continued to further the legacy of her late husband, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, a So You Think You Can Dance alum and beloved leader in the dance community who'd committed suicide on Dec. 13, 2022. Jin received a unanimous yes from the judges.
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