So You Think You Can Dance Audition- you asked for it, now here it is!~

Margaret (a talented dancer who had three bananas all attached, as did I)and SYTYCD host Cat Deely sport the same vintage sweater coat. Margaret's belonged to her grandmother and Cat's is from a vintage store.



This picture is of Linda signing her release contract on my back.



Linda, Rachel and Me.



Rachel and me.



Rachel and Linda have been dancing together at the same studio for a few years.





SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (SYTYCD)

On March 1 I boldly went where no Dinah has gone before, haha, well at least not this Dinah.

I headed to the Manhattan Centre Theatre at 6:30 am to audition for the third season of the hit reality dance show "So You Think You Can Dance."

The experience was one of a kind, and I've always been a very confident dancer. However, while waiting outside in line, in the freezing cold on the streets of NYC (my birthplace) for five hours, I met people with tons of audition experience.

I have never auditioned for a show in terms of the "real world." I've auditioned for school musical and plays, dance teams and dance companies, but not in this professional way. And everyone around me already had the benefits of experiencing similar auditions, and rejections it seems.

Outside I met Cat Deely, the host of the show, as well as some very sweet dancers from Staten Island, Rachel and Linda, and Tabitha who had just flown in from dancing in Korea.

Around noon, my section of the line made our way into the auditorium to warm up, sit down and get even more nervous as we watched the producers cut down the competition in groups of 10. Basically, the audition process was not outlined clearly on the Web site, at all.

I expected to dance in a room in front of the producers to my own music, to my own set choreography and just wow them. Alas that did not happen as we were herded in front of them in groups of 10, asked to improvise to a song of their choosing. The songs in question that blasted in the theatre until my departure at 4 pm: Justin Timberlake's "My Love" and "Sexyback," Christina Aguilera's "Hurt", the Black Eyed Peas "Hey Mama" and "Pump it."


If I never hear those songs again it would be too soon. It was hard to determine what the judges wanted to see, until you realized a pattern. Only the absolute best and the absolute worst made it past round one. After all the show needs footage of bad dancers being told they can't dance by the judges.


So I did not make it past that first round, despite waking up at the crack of dawn, perfecting my hair (which actually turned out how I wanted it to despite weeks of disappointment because of the cold weather in Boston), putting on make-up, and rehearsing a craftily choreographed piece to Jem's "Come on Closer."


What I got was a new understanding of show business, my first REAL audition, and the chance to meet a ton of talented and wonderfully sweet people and to be a part of a much-loved television show.


Make sure to check out the audition specials of "So You Think You Can Dance" on Thursday May 24 and Wednesday May 30 at 8pm on FOX. You just might catch a glimpse of me in line, dancing, chatting, or who knows doing what other embarrassing stunt.