This season of Fox's dance competition has a specific theme, yet they are still able to tell human stories. How inspiring was Jacy Jordan on So You Think You Can Dance Season 12? She's right up there with the best dancers on the Fox reality series this season, but her story started over 10 years ago.
As we learned at the Los Angeles auditions, Jacy Jordan is a stage-trained Texas dancer who was injured in a car accident when she was a little girl in 2004 and was told she would never walk again. By the time she was nine years old, Jacy Jordan was walking, had gotten back into dance, and was already making local news. In fact, she told the Houston Chronicle in 2006 that her dream was to be on So You Think You Can Dance. That was back in Season 2, when current SYTYCD mentor Travis Wall was the runner-up. Ten seasons and nine years later, here Jacy Jordan is, competing with him on her team. Can you believe that?
Her sister Jessie Jordan was also in the accident, and is now a competitive gymnast. Jacy Jordan's So You Think You Can Dance audition was incredible, but I'd like to call attention to the fact that this girl was injured when she was seven years old. Her recovery shows an incredible level of strength and determination for any human being, much less a second-grader. Her artistic and competitive side obviously never faltered, but the fact that with persistent physical therapy she is able to compete at this level of modern dance is an absolute miracle.
I'm not sure that I'm the biggest fan of the "Stage vs. Street" format — wouldn't there be a mix of these different styles at auditions anyway? Isn't that, like, the point of So You Think You Can Dance in the first place? So the fact that we are meeting dancers like Jordan whose stories go beyond their personal dancing subgenre/venue is excellent. She'll be joining Team Stage in Vegas, but her stage training has nothing to do with what makes her a star.
It's hard, watching the auditions episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, to get attached to performers who could be gone in the blink of an eye when it comes to Vegas. Sometimes, if I'm being honest, I skip them altogether and start watching once the contestants have been selected. In this young woman's case, and in the case of several other inspiring and talented dancers, I'm glad I tuned in. Here's hoping that the focus the SYTYCD producers put on Jacy Jordan wasn't for naught, and we'll be seeing her in Team Stage's Top 10 this season.
Images: screengrab/Fox (2)
