If this keeps up, Sanford may become known cranking out dancers.
Sanford native Mariah Reives, 18, the daughter of Felicia Reives, became the city’s second “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant in five years to pass the first round of auditions on the popular Fox reality show. Noelle Marsh— now a professional dancer living in Los Angeles, made the show’s Top 10 back in 2009.
Reives was the first contestant on last night’s auditions episode set in Atlanta’s Fox Theater. She performed a 90-second jazz dance routine, which was met with a standing ovation from the crowd and the show’s three judges, Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and L.A.-based dancer and model Lil Buck.
Mary Murphy: “That was so much fun, so entertaining. You’re an actress, and you have such a massive vocabulary you’re drawing from, I can see you doing almost anything we ask you to do. It was great.”
Lil Buck: “It was amazing. You showed great technique. Your legs were on point, your aerials were on point. You made us smile. I enjoyed the whole thing, you caught my attention. I didn’t want to blink.
Nigel: “I thought you were tremendous. You mixed good technique with great performance. Put them together and you have a star. And that’s what you are, so come and get your ticket.”
Reives will compete in the next round of “So You Think You Can Dance” against 157 dancers in California. Those dancers will compete for 20 spots (10 men and 10 women) in the weekly competition.