SYTYCD: The Terrific Trio

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 3 Performance Finale

• Is it bad that I'm more excited for tomorrow's show when we get to re-watch the best routines of the season than I am for tonight?
• Cat is wearing a black mini dress with elbow-length lace sleeves. It's kind of demure for the final performance show of the season, actually. Maybe she'll pull out the craziness for tomorrow.
• Each contestant is doing FOUR routines AND a solo?! Seriously? Is that really necessary?
• So everyone's doing four routines and a solo, and we still have time for this extremely long recap of the season?

Kent with Lauren (Dev Bollywood):

• The featurette: Kent: "What I want to know is why did she marry an 18-year-old?" Kent: "This Bollywood needs cheesy, and I can deliver so much cheese."
• The dance: Lauren's almost unrecognizable in her Indian costume. Kent's got a nice long silver jacket. It was a good routine, but sometimes it looked like Kent was just barely hanging in there.
• The judging: Mia says it was the perfect tailored Bollywood piece for Kent. Adam thinks the Energizer Bunny should retire. So apparently I'm the only one who thought Kent looked a little gassed. Adam says Kent is the feel good dancer of the year. Lauren apparently almost ran into a post on her way off stage. (Considering Kent is still breathing heavily after the lengthy judging panel banter, I feel pretty justified in my earlier assertion that he looked a bit tired.)

Lauren with Twitch (Tabitha and Napoleon hip hop):

• The featurette: It's a presidential debate. That's different.
• The dance: Um, they're doing an awful lot of standing behind the podiums in the beginning. I wasn't sold on the first section of in-front-of-the-podium dancing, but I think it's getting better as it goes. Twitch for president!
• The judging: Nigel says NappyTabs is just so good at inspiring people to dance. Uhhh, yeah. After misfiring with a Sarah Palin joke, Nigel's trying to tell us that this competition is still anybody's game. Well, maybe not Robert ;-) Mia says Lauren's filthy, and Cat says, "Aren't all politicians?" Mia doesn't know if there's anything Lauren can't do. Mia loves Lauren's balance of masculinity and femininity.

Robert with Mark (Tyce Diorio jazz):

• The featurette: Robert kind of looks just like Mark but with less personality and coolness. Anyway...
• The dance: It is a bit hard to tell who is who with the matching outfits and hair styles. Anytime they hunch down for some of the groovy moves, you can tell which one is Mark though. It was fun, but it was not really revolutionary.
• The judging: Cat asks how much handsomeness we can fit on one stage. Nigel really liked it. Mia says that Robert was "wowed" in the beginning and has gotten more grounded as the show went on. I'll agree; we haven't seen the hand/barf thing lately. Adam thinks working with Mark forced Robert to grow more than dancing with a contestant would have. Adam says Robert actually jumped up for once.

What? Now we have time to have sit-downs with each of the contestants? We're just made of time tonight...

Kent's solo: Open yellow shirt and shorts. He's doing it on purpose, but he definitely wiped out a few times there. Looked kind of painful at times.

Robert and Lauren (Dee Caspary contemporary):

• The featurette: The piece is about them going home and being at peace with the result of the competition.
• The dance: So they went "home" to the same place and are wearing their skimpy pajamas? Kent's going to be so heartbroken when he finds out about this... So, Robert is looking all kinds of good in this one. Possibly my favorite dancing out of him ever. Lauren's doing well too, but I think Rob is actually stealing the show here.
• The judging: Nigel thought there were touches of genius in the choreo. Nigel says the word that sums them both up is strength. Mia says Dee is unreal. Mia says this was by far Robert's most delicious performance. Mia says his humbleness is gorgeous. She says Lauren was perfection. Adam says it was magnificent.

Lauren and Kent (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: In this piece, they're really themselves.
• The dance: Ok, they're "themselves" but they're wearing nerd glasses? As far as I can tell, neither Lauren nor Kent actually wears nerd glasses. I'm confused. Not sure it's the best look on Kent. He looks like one of the background geeks from Saved By The Bell. And...the glasses are the thing about this routine that left the biggest impact on me. Not too revved up about this one.
• The judging: Nigel doesn't think they were challenged enough for the finale, but they kept the characters up and did what was asked of them. Mia's got glasses on too. Mia thought it was fun and they danced it well, but she didn't really like it because it's just not her cup of tea. Adam says he loves them. And now he just keeps repeating, "Get outta here; I love ya'!" It's bizarre. Lauren and Kent--especially Kent--do a great job of rallying around Mandy and saying that what the judges think doesn't really matter.

Robert's solo: Ok, Robert's finally won me over with his sweetness. He says if he wins the prize money, the first thing he's going to do is look at his mom and ask her what she wants. Awww. And now he's doing his solo to The Postal Service! And it's a good solo! With good choreo! Robert for the win!

Kent with Allison (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Looking into a relationship that everyone thinks is perfect but really isn't. Stacey's trying to find Kent's maturity here.
• The dance: Allison is perfection. Oh, some really nice side-by-side work and then a beautiful little solo from Allison. Wow, good. Parts of it looked like they were letting Allison steal the show to give Kent a bit of a break on 5-dance night, but, whatever, it was good.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Kent's lines get better. Kent looks shook up from the mature emotion of it all. Mia points out that Kent actually said, "Get off!" at the end because he was so invested. Mia loves how invested he was (which he can be because he's already got great technique). Mia says she needs more ways to tell him she loves him. Adam asks Kent what is going on because he's about to burst into tears, and when Kent starts to explain it, Adam and Nigel totally cut him off. Adam thinks this was magnificent too. Kent seems to have had an almost religious experience here, in that he's got an almost totally different personality right now. The cheese has been dialed waaaaaay down.

Lauren's solo: Dancing to "I'm Going Down" in her typical style: backbends, hair flips, shoulder jerks, etc., all coming fast and furious. It looks better than it sounds, of course.

Robert with Kathryn (Spencer Liff Broadway):

• The featurette: Spencer (to Robert): "You're not a mime!"
• The dance: Ooh, West Side Story. Smart beginning, in that Robert gets a nice long solo before stage-stealer Kathryn shows up. She's rocking the "interrogator" attitude something fierce. Rob was good. That was a good routine.
• The judging: Uh oh, Robert's pants split. Didn't I just say last week that Rob's clothes are just a bit too tight? Nigel and Adam are having a dispute about whether that song is in the WSS stage play or just the movie. Not exactly all that pertinent right now, boys... Anyhow, Nigel liked it. Mia loved the classical feel to it and thought it was danced very well. She thought it could have used a bit more sizzle and simmer. Adam thinks WSS was the best piece of musical choreo ever, and he thought Spencer's takeoff was really good. And Rob was good.

Lauren with Pasha (Tony and Meredith cha cha):

• The featurette: In this routine, Lauren sees Pasha and just loses her mind. Well, that's understandable.
• The dance: Wow, that dress is about as little as it can be. Wow, nice life in the middle. The one bare side of her dress makes everything look so scandalous. The routine was pretty good; it seemed a bit on the slow side, but it was danced really well.
• The judging: Nigel says she's probably the best contemporary girl on the show ever to do a ballroom routine. Which seems a BIT strong to me. (Allison, Kathryn, Jeanine, Courtney G., etc. all rocked ballroom back in the day, and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.) Mia says if she were still dancing, she'd want to dance just like Lauren. Adam says if music were embodied into a person, it would be her. Adam says that was exhibition-style perfect. And, again, I miss Mary Murphy. How have we gone all season with no Hot Tamale Train?

Robert and Kent (Malevos fight):

• The featurettes: These hats are just silly. Kent and Robert took some nasty falls during practice.
• The dance: They look like gangsters (well, Rob more so than Kent). But they're tangoing. Bizarre. Wow, Robert just lifted Kent up and swung him around his shoulders. There's some nice stunt stuff mixed in with some weird tango stuff, making for an odd mix overall.
• The judging: Nigel has never heard of this routine, but supposedly it's what the men do to practice their tango before they go dance with the women. Oookay. Nigel's taking the opportunity to talk about how great all three of the finalists are in general, instead of really talking about this routine. Probably a wise choice. Mia loved the feel of the piece. She liked that it was debonair and still had a 'hood feeling. She acknowledges that the leg work "could be tighter." Adam agrees that certain elements of the precision weren't exactly right, but says it doesn't matter any more. Adam says these three finalists are his three favorite dancers ever on the show. Oh, come on. Stop lying. (And if you're not lying, stop being ridiculous. Three favorite ever?!)

• Cat reads her send-off speech while still wearing one of Robert and Kent's gangster hats from the last number. Awesome.
• I think there were too many routines tonight. There was an awful, awful lot to digest.
• Well, Robert and Lauren both had pretty good nights, but I'll still be stunned if Kent doesn't run away with this tomorrow.

My favorites: Robert and Lauren's contemporary; Kent and Allison's contemporary; Robert and Kathryn's Broadway

SYTYCD: Top Four

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 4 Performance Show

• So, this is the second-to-last performance show before the inevitable crowning of Kent as the Season 7 champion.
• Cat has a voluminous and somewhat disheveled faux bob and a bedazzled black mini dress with pink and green stripey accents around the neck.
• OH DEAR--as if the judges haven't been full enough of themselves this season, tonight the panel includes Tyce! Is it wrong that I'm actually not totally dreading having to listen to Tyce's insights tonight? He didn't annoy me as much at auditions this season as he has in the past. This will be a good chance to see if my hate affair with him has in fact cooled off.

Tyce Diorio group number:

• The featurette: Tyce: "The top four should be like fireworks! Bam! Bam! Bam!"
• The dance: This is really just working out to be a Lauren showcase--she's the one who gets to do the different moves. The guys are basically all doing the same things. Their moves might be more impressive than what she's doing, but they look like back-up dancers. Also, Robert's suspenders are terrible.
• The judging: Tyce thinks Kent stood out, and he wants to see the fight from AdeChike. Adam hopes they've had a great time. Nigel adds some more platitudes. Mia says nothing.

Lauren with Pasha (Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo Argentine tango):

• The featurette: PASHA!!!! It's been ages! Whoa, Pasha is smoldering. Oh dear, the dance begins with Pasha being sad in a night club. How upsetting.
• The dance: Well, my first thought--and this is not particularly fair--is that Lauren is not Chelsie Hightower. There's just something about Lauren's foot and leg placements that don't seem just precisely right. Still, though, she gave it a good effort and she was close.
• The judging: Couldn't Mary Murphy have been on the panel tonight? Nigel liked the passion and the control. Nigel: "And Pasha! I mean, I wanted to dance with you!" Tyce says Lauren gave the audience "the uh, the ah, the eh, the unh and the eeh" or something. I don't know. Mia says the choreo was incredible and that Lauren just became a women. It was simmering and mesmerizing. Adam starts talking about Prop 8 and then asks Nigel to marry him, which literally has nothing to do with Lauren or the dance. At least bring it up after a two-boy number or something. Adam says Lauren used her legs "like they were arms" which just sounds creepy.

AdeChike with Lauren (Sean Cheesman Afro jazz):

• The featurette: With a little Afro Caribbean thrown in. AdeChike used to be serious, but now he smiles.
• The dance: Lauren's bra-top and big flowly skirt look is pretty fierce. That skirt is everything, as Mia would say. Is AdeChike wearing a shrug? Whose idea was that? I think AdeChike's looking good in this routine, although admittedly nothing about either of their dancing is doing much to distract my attention away from the wardrobe.
• The judging: Cat: "Britney Spears would be proud of that crop top!" Nigel thinks AdeChike's back seems terribly straight sometimes, so it's not loose enough for the waves. Tyce says he loves Lauren. Tyce is talking about story lines and grounding centers and laying it DOWN. The upshot is that Tyce thinks AdeChike danced it well, but he should have taken it further. Mia didn't care for it. Because of the tightness in AdeChike's upper body, she thinks he wasn't expanding the performance to the heavens. Adam thinks AdeChike needs to lose himself in the dance and then blows him a kiss. Cat says "A-de-Chi-ke" like it's the first time she's ever said the name in her life.

Robert with Anya (Jonathan Roberts Viennese waltz):

• The featurette: Is this Jonathan guy from DWTS? It's his first time choreographing on SYTYCD. Jonathan doesn't think Robert is a ballroom expert. Robert is gunning to take Pasha's place though.
• The dance: If we're talking posture, I feel like there's something weird about Robert's when he's partnering someone in a ballroom routine. I'm wondering if it's because he's tall and he kind of stoops to be on the girl's level. Also, I think his outfits are often just a smidge too tight on him. There were some nice lifts in that routine.
• The dance: Nigel thought it was beautiful. Nigel thinks Robert worked very hard on the rise and fall. Nigel says Pasha didn't do a straight-arm lift tonight and Robert did. Uh, call Pasha back out here. I guarantee he can do a better one than Rob just did. Tyce says Robert "wore it like a suit." Mia looks like she just trucked in from the prairie. Her hair/outfit look like they were inspired by Sully from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. Mia thought it was beautiful and she wishes Robert would relax and enjoy the ride. Adam thinks he was brilliant. Brilliant? Really? I guess they're trying to build Robert and Lauren up a bit so there's some suspense in the finale (I guess they're wanting those three instead of AdeChike).

We're doing like Miss America pageant-style interviews with the contestants between performances. It's unnecessary, in my opinion.

Robert's standing on the stage with a death-grip around Cat's ribcage.

Kent with Courtney (Doriana Sanchez disco):

• The featurette: Can we just kabosh disco routines once and for all? Oh goodness, Courtney took a beating in that rehearsal.
• The dance: And now to top it off, Courtney has to go out on stage in a dress with a sparkly purple top and a bright orange skirt. Yikes. There are a lot of lifts; not much side-by-side dancing. Quite an exciting spinning lift at the end there. Cat says the last lift almost gave her a heart attack.
• The judging: Kent: "I was excited; and then I had to do a lot of lifts." Nigel wants to know how many lifts got taken out. Kent: "Well, I'm just not big!" Tyce thinks Courtney looks beautiful...and I can only assume that he means she looks beautiful despite the dress. Tyce thinks it was good but Kent needed to do more research into disco. Mia thought it was a little rough. She thought the partnering was solid, but that the non-partner stuff felt "bouncey, short and squashy." She says it was his worst routine of the season. Adam thinks it was Kent's most youthful performance yet, and he's not thinking that's a good thing. Adam needs to stop referencing "Blue Steel." Zoolander is not exactly "so hot right now."

Kent: "There aren't any male dancers around here (in Wapakoneta). I mean, there are barely girl dancers here."

Kent gets really excited while he's telling us that you don't have to be from a big city to make it on SYTYCD if you have the drive and believe in yourself.

Cat: "In two week's time, Kent will be running for president."

Lauren with Ade (Sean Cheesman jazz):

• The featurette: Oh look, Lauren's trying to seduce someone else. But now she's a deadly black widow.
• The dance: Lauren is wearing a full-body black lace see-through leotard. They almost blend into the wall behind them due to their all-black outfits. Very cool lift with an innovative entrance in the middle of the routine. Good routine.
• The judging: Nigel says it was really strong work. Masculine work that she did in a feminine way. Nigel thinks Lauren deserves to be in the finale. Tyce says she did a great job dancing in the heels. He thinks her ending position could have been more ferocious though. Mia says Lauren's a beast. Mia thought the sexual chemistry wasn't as evident as she would have liked it to be. Adam says he wants to hire her. Is Ade wearing a shirt, a sweater and a jacket? He must be warm.

AdeChike with Kathryn (Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rohden piece):

• The featurette: Desmond is AdeChike's idol. He was worked with Desmond and Dwight before at a summer camp.
• The dance: The problem I have with AdeChike is that--to me anyway--he almost always gets overshadowed by whomever he's dancing with. Kathryn stole this number in the first 5 seconds. Now, granted, Kathryn is going to steal the show from pretty much anyone because she's that good.
• The judging: Nigel thinks AdeChike lost a little bit of wind toward the end of the routine. But he says that AdeChike has done a wonderful job across the season. Tyce also wants to celebrate where AdeChike's at. They're trying not to be too mean, so he won't get sympathy votes. You can tell that Tyce wants to pick on him, but doesn't think he should. Mia wanted more. Mia says AdeChike has potential to be a superhero dancer, and she saw glimpses of it but then she also saw flaws that held him back. Adam thinks AdeChike has grown so much on this show. Uh, I guess...

AdeChike's bringing the tears in a lovely display of emotion (that I wish would shine through in his dancing more often).

Robert with Dominic (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop):

• The featurette: The dance is about two clowns who are sad when they find out that their big top is closing. NappyTabs assure us that this is not your typical hip hop.
• The dance: This is Robert's first hip hop, I think, so this should be interesting. He's actually better than I was expecting. Dom's makeup makes him look like the Joker. Not sure I got the "the big top is closing" story from that, but whatever. It was a NappyTabs routine that I didn't hate, so that's something.
• The judging: Nigel hopes they'll do this routine on the tour. Nigel says Robert did everything that was asked of him and he was brilliant. Tyce says that Robert really showed up to this piece. Mia says Robert committed to everything. And she thinks he's had an amaaaaaaaaaaazing evening. Adam says Robert just out-danced Dom's ass. Everyone bristles because that seems a little unnecessarily harsh to poor, sweet, clowny Dominic.

Kent with Neil (Travis Wall contemporary):

• The featurette: The dance is about two best friends, but Neil needs to move on and then goes so far as to stab Kent in the back. Kent fights back, but then decides he needs to walk away. This is complicated.
• The dance: It's to DeVotchKa's "How It Ends"! Kent looks like a mannequin in the beginning. Wow, some dance fighting! It's like West Side Story. Kent and Neil are really well-matched dancers. Neil looks good in this one. His leaps and extensions are sheer sickness. I'm not going to buy the "Kent out-danced the All Star" line for this one.
• The judging: Cat tells Neil to pick on someone his own size. Nigel thought the piece was "inspirational." I'm not sure if "inspirational" is quite the word; "disturbing" maybe. Nigel thinks Kent just booked a ticket to the finale with that routine. Uh, Kent booked that ticket back in the auditions. Tyce says excellence in the dancer, the choreographer, and the All Star. Mia can't find words because it was "so real and so uncomfortable awful and that is what true, true genius in an artist is." Adam ducks his head and says that Travis is brilliant. Adam says if this were the finale, Kent would have just won the show. Uh, guys! Kent ALREADY won the show.

I wish they did this show without a judging panel. They seem so disingenuous so much of the time.

The last routine was good, but I wasn't super excited about anything else. I didn't like anything as much as the Billy/Ade routine last week.

Favorites: Kent and Neil's contemporary and, uh, Kathryn and AdeChike's piece?

SYTYCD: Top Six, Take Two

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 6 Performance Show, Part II

• So who's injured tonight? No one? That can't be right...
• Everyone came out for the intros! Billy does have a massive brace on his knee though.
• Cat is wearing a one-shoulder, black and white snake skin print mini dress.
• Cat confirms that no one is injured.
• Toni Redpath is also judging tonight, which is nice because she at least knows ballroom, unlike these other schmoes.

Kent with Anya (Jean-Marc and France cha cha):

• The featurette: Kent has already done the cha cha. Anya points out that Kent has gotten to kiss a lot of girls on the show already. In this dance, Anya is a teacher and Kent is a bad boy. This is a little creepy.
• The dance: Anya's big see-through white shirt and '80s Madonna makeup are a little distracting, but the cha cha dancing looks pretty good from both of them. Kent looked downright Pasha-esque at times.
• The judging: Nigel says Kent started out as a young boy dancing but is now a man dancing. Really good effort. Toni says Kent was better at cha cha this time--he was more grounded and had better footwork. She thinks he got a little hunchy in his shoulders. Mia thinks he moved his hips right, but that the whole piece was crunchy and felt a little choppy. She thinks he's not taking the note on his face. Kent says that's who he is and it just comes out. By the time we get to Adam, I think we've got this whole pretty well hashed out. Adam thinks he needed more length. And in this one judging panel, I think I've heard more substantive dancing critiques than I have in some entire episodes.

Robert with Kathryn (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Sorry, I missed it.
• The dance: Kathryn's splits are exquisite. Um, Robert would probably be better showcased by this routine if he didn't spend 70% of it with his back to the audience. Robert is looking a little more butch than usual. The end of this routine didn't look very hard (looked like something they'd give to Jose).
• The judging: Nigel loved the connectivity to it. Nigel says Robert used to be goofy but now he's not. Toni says she'd want to be the woman he was dancing with. Mia thought the beginning of that piece was so sacred and tender. Mia thinks he should allow his emotions to be the catalyst of his movement and that will take it to even another level. Adam says no one supports each other like dancers. Uh, ok, thanks for sharing. Adam says Kathryn is so stunning it freaks him out and Rob came up to her.

Jose's solo: He's starting by dancing on his feet again. Now he's on the ground. He's doing some interesting-ish stuff, but it seems kind of aimless.

AdeChike with Courtney (Tyce Diorio jazz):

• The featurette: The story to this routine sounds similar to the story of the other piece they did together. AdeChike doesn't want to look like a contemporary dancer doing a jazz routine; he wants to look like a jazz dancer doing a jazz routine. Not sure I'd really know the difference, AdeChike, if it makes you feel any better.
• The dance: Honestly this dance doesn't really look that much like a jazz routine to me in the beginning. The middle seems more jazz-ish, I guess. The outfits are also not really what I'd expect. Not sure why we really needed the two mini staircases.
• The judging: Adam says, first of all, Tyce, great. Whatever. Adam says that was just "balls-out dancing" and then acts shocked at himself for using that phrase. Cat says, "Adam, I'm never starting with you again." Adam wants AdeChike to loosen up his back. I want Adam to shut up. Mia says that music is everything. (Someone should compile a list of all the different things Mia thinks are "everything.") Mia thinks he did a good job, but she needs to see more style from him. Toni loved it. Nigel doesn't think there was enough abandon from AdeChike and that he needs to look like he's letting himself go.

Lauren's solo: Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" solo takes a little too long to develop, but the "You make me feel! You make me feel!" part is very cool.

Jose with Comfort (Marty Kudelka and Dana Wilson hip hop):

• The featurette: Jose is trying to pick Comfort up at a club. Comfort says Jose has no game. Gosh, I love Comfort's brutal honesty.
• The dance: Good strategy for the routine to start out with just Comfort dancing. I love that the costumes look more Broadway or jazz than hip hop. And that the music is classic soul. Of course the slow grooviness of the music seems to be making it easier on Jose to dance to it. It was an enjoyable routine though.
• The judging: Nigel says that people had to tell him that Jose wasn't in the group routine last week (I noticed that). Turns out Jose pulled his groin, but he says he's ok. Nigel thinks this routine was a bit flappy. Toni says she would have bought his pick up line. Mia says there was no swag in there whatsoever. She says Jose should have tapped into Marty's swag. She thinks Jose made it bouncy and kooky instead. Adam says he sees what they're all saying. But I don't really understand what he's saying. Oh, ok, he thinks the piece was supposed to be darker and sexy, but Jose made it fun.

Billy's solo: According to the other contestants, Billy is messy and helpful and focused but funny. And loud. And a nut job. Billy sure doesn't look like he's got the knee brace on now. His jeans are awfully skinny, and I don't see any outlines. Interesting solo there: kind of robot music and crisp, robotic moves.

Kent's solo: Kent is seething with emotion before his solo even starts! Not to be outdone, he's got skinny jeans too. Ok, I think this was one of Kent's better solos. There was a certain composition sense to it.

Lauren with Allison (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

• The featurette: Two girls dancing together for the first time this season! Cool. The number is about strong female dancing. And this is a good test for Lauren: if she looks good next to Allison, then she's really good.
• The dance: I think Lauren's just as good if not better than Allison at selling the Broadway faces and attitude. Allison's general quality of movement is sometimes probably a little bit better than Lauren's, but Lauren's doing really well.
• The judging: Adam says he thinks of Lauren as an All-Star already because she's so good at everything she does. Adam wants to see them do "Single Ladies." Mia says there's nothing to critique and that Lauren's kind of forged ahead. Toni says Lauren hit her facial expressions just right and didn't overdo it. Nigel just called this show American Idol. Uh, please focus, Nigel. Nigel feels like Lauren's going to be in the finale.

Robert's solo: Billy says Robert is the songbird of our generation. This was probably one of my favorite solos from Robert so far. And not just because of the reckless abandon with which he just threw himself into that final, violent backbend.

Billy Bell with Ade (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Ade is a high-powered businessman and Billy is homeless. And--surprise twist!--they're old friends! Kinda ruined the ending there, Stacey. She should have said "spoiler alert"!
• The dance: And it's to "Mad World" no less! Billy = exquisite. Even with his hat over his eyes. Ade is no slouch either. I loved it. Not so much for the social commentary, but for the awesomeness of Billy. Billy's expressions were superb as well.
• The judging: All judges but Nigel give it a standing ovation. Billy says his knee is better, but he has a big old brace on it. Nigel says that was really quite brilliant and that Billy was the most mature he's ever seen him. Toni says some pieces transcend dance, and that was one of those pieces. Mia says that was sheer perfection. Mia says Stacey is evolving into some artist. Mia says it was her favorite piece from Billy all season. Mia says Billy's face was absolutely everything. Mia says, win or lose, Billy will be remembered and is respected in the dance world as an up-and-coming artist. Adam says Billy just dropped in as one of the best dancers on the show ever. He says it was magnificent.

AdeChike's solo: Lauren says AdeChike is best friends with everyone and their mom. And AdeChick's got skinny jeans too. And no shirt. Pretty cool solo.

Kent and Jose (Spencer Liff Broadway):

• The featurette: Kent: "Snot just went everywhere!" I don't know if I can stand this much youthful exuberance in one place. It's exhausting.
• The dance: Jose got the short end of the stick having to wear those overalls. Kent just did a long solo; Jose just did a really short one. Ok, they probably shouldn't make Jose do side-by-side dancing with Kent. Because he's just going to look bad. Wow, Kent ended the routine with a giant belly flop into the backstage area.
• The judging: Adam thinks Spencer killed the 1940s/50s retro thing. Adam thinks it will come down to Kent and Lauren. He thinks Kent needs a little more training, but he was born to do this. Adam says its unbelievable that Jose made it through that. Mia says that was freaking fantabulous. Mia says Kent needs to live in this world of Broadway because everything about it fits him like a love. He is so "everything" in this style. Mia says you can see the difference in training between Kent and Jose, but Jose kept up. Toni says Jose's character made it ok that he wasn't up to Kent's level. Nigel says we haven't seen this Broadway style since Evan (and we saw so much of it back then that we haven't really missed it...). Nigel says dancing with Kent showed Jose's limitations, but he should be very proud of how far he's come. Nigel says this may be Jose's last week here.

Lauren and AdeChike (Jean-Marc and France fox trot):

• The featurette: This dance is more sultry and sexy than typical fox trots. AdeChike says the "fever" is contagious and they'll have the whole audience sick.
• The dance: Lauren's dress is pretty great. So is AdeChike's sweater vest. This is good. I'm wanting to call it the best contestant/contestant ballroom number of the year, but I'm forgetting what the other two-contestant ballroom routines have been, except the AdeChike/Jose paso. I really liked this one though.
• The judging: Nigel thought there were parts that looked very much like a jazz routine. He thought overall they did well with good connectivity. But he's not super excited about it compared to other dances tonight. Toni says they didn't dance it like ballroom dancers would; she says there were a lot of things that were off, but they got into the character of the dance. Mia says 'Cheeks' had a lot of great moments as a partner, but when he steps away from her, there's a disconnect. Mia says Lauren's grace and sensuality were great. Adam thought Lauren wasn't competing--just dancing. Adam says AdeChike looked very concerned about being there for her, which is good, but he shouldn't look like he's concerned.

Robert and Billy (Nakul Bollywood):

• The featurette: Two dances in a battle to get the main part in the biggest Bollywood movie ever!
• The dance: Well, this isn't starting out like the most masculine dance I've ever seen... Nice side-by-side spins. Billy sure is working the heck out of those knees for someone with a knee injury. That routine looked crazy hard. The both powered through it.
• The judging: Nigel says it was fantastic and one of the best Bollywood routines by two guys. Toni says at this point it's going to come down to personal choice. She really likes Robert. Mia really likes Billy. Mia says, OMG, that was so hard, but no injuries! But Nigel says Billy's moving his knee strangely. Billy says his knee is feeling it, but it's fine. Adam says he wants no parts of picking a winner at this point. So just let us decide with our votes already!!! We're down to 6 people; we can take it from here!

WHAT?!?! Now Cat says Lauren is with the medic! Come on, people!

My favorites:
Billy and Ade's contemporary, Lauren and AdeChike's fox trot, Lauren and Allison's Broadway

List of things Mia said were "everything" tonight:

• the music for the AdeChike/Courtney jazz
• Billy's face
• Kent dancing in '40/'50s Broadway style

SYTYCD: Still Dropping Like Flies

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 6 Performance Show

• Deeley's finally bringing it fashion-wise tonight. It looks like she put on a beige slip dress and then kind of haphazardly tied a poofy red sheet around herself. It's awesome. She's balancing the strong look out with a smooth, low ponytail.
• ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! NOW WHERE'S BILLY!?! This is insanity.
• Guest judging tonight is Kenny Ortega of High School Musical fame.
• Billy has injured his knee and is sitting in the audience (wearing a very small pink tie). Doctors supposedly told him he could dance if he feels ok, but he doesn't feel ok today, so he's not dancing. They think he might be ok by next week, but they wouldn't tell us now anyway.
• Alex Wong's sitting in the audience, looking pretty cheerful.
• The SYTYCD costume designer has supposedly won an Emmy. Having seen some of the outfits on this show, I find that somewhat hard to believe.

Lauren with Twitch (Napoleon and Tabitha hip-hop):

• The featurette: It's a Wild West hip-hop routine. Ugh, I just cannot stand Napoleon and Tabitha. Them talking is even worse than them choreographing something.
• The dance: Twitch is wearing jean/chaps--it's really something. Ha ha, it looked like Twitch was trying to crawl through Lauren's legs and he couldn't fit. She's got some good hip-hop moves. And I liked the reverse somersault things she did (I don't really know what to call those.) The routine ends with Lauren riding Twitch across the stage.
• The judging: Adam: "Who are you?!" Didn't he ask someone that last week? Get a new catch phrase. I don't understand; how is she "not the same girl" who auditioned? Her attitude in this was similar to the attitude in the sexpot audition number. Mia thought she was good and says she needs to keep going hard because she's the only diva left. Kenny Ortega thinks it's an honor to be here and thinks that each season SYTYCD changes the field of dance. Kenny says, "Save a horse, ride a cowboy." Nigel tells Twitch that he really looks like he's been ridden hard and put away wet. Holy crap, Nigel, calm yourself. (Twitch is a little sweaty though, in all honesty.)

Jose with Allison (Sonya Tayeh contemporary):

• The featurette: Now we're going to see how good Allison really is. She used to make Ivan look pretty good, so I'm thinking she might be able to pull it off.
• The dance: I like Allison's dress, but the overall color scheme of their outfits is pretty drab. Ok, once again, we've got a choreographer going to bizarre lengths to cover up Jose's deficiencies. I could do a good contemporary routine too if 80% of it is sitting on the edge of the stage, moving my arms... That said, I did rather enjoy the routine and choreo. It was definitely something different.
• The judging: Adam thinks it was a beautifully conceived piece of material. But he recognizes that this routine made it hard to critique Jose's actual dancing. He thinks what Jose did do up there was perfect though. Mia thought the piece was conceptually genius. Mia says there's a difference between pedestrian contemporary (which most people can handle) and really "real contemporary." Mia says this was pedestrian contemporary. She thought it was really good, but would have liked to see more growth from the last time he did contemporary. Kenny thinks Allison is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful dancers. HIRE HER FOR SOMETHING, KENNY! Nigel thinks Jose was very committed to the piece. He knows, though, that Sonya covered up Jose's weaknesses. Nigel wants him to point his toes and straighten his legs. Uh, yeah, that does seem kind of important...

Robert with Lauren (Tyce Diorio jazz):

• The featurette: I'm getting uncomfortable with how much everyone's talking about Lauren's booty this season. This dance is all about seduction. They're trying to sell us on Robert and Lauren being all into each other... Really?
• The dance: Black S&M-inspired outfits. You know, Lauren's looking really good in this dance. Robert's doing ok too, but Lauren's kinda stealing the show. The routine's pretty cool too. Especially not bad considering it's coming from Tyce. It was a good routine because they were just up there flat-out dancing.
• The judging: Adam says Robert commands the stage and is started to lose himself more. Adam says Robert's "resting" hand position needs work. Mia says it's a breath of fresh air to see a strong, clean jazz routine with no concept and just good dancing. Kenny thinks this piece showed that Robert does "have bottom." Nigel loved the flow of movement.

AdeChike's solo: Shirtless. Oh no! He's dancing to "This Woman's Work." The Cancer Dance song. I can't handle it. If I never hear this song again, it's fine by me. Was so distracted by my distaste for the song that I kind of missed most of his dancing, but he did a nice series of karate-esque kicks.

Kent with Kathryn (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

• The featurette: Kathryn: "Sonya at 8 a.m. should not be legal." This routine is very exhausting and intense.
• The dance: Kinda looks like a summer barbecue or a beach party. Kathryn is just sick sometimes. The routine was fun. The did a good job performing it as well. Will we remember it forever? Probably not.
• The judging: Kent apparently gave a monologue in Vegas about how putting him on the show would make it something special. Adam thinks Kent kicked ass. Mia says we all know Kent's a strong dancer. Mia thinks that sometimes his face gets so animated that it takes the choreography to an immature level. Dance-wise, though, she thinks it was great. Kenny thinks Kent is the guy to beat. Well, duh. The other guy to beat detached his Achilles a few weeks ago. Nigel thinks Kent's almost out-danced the All Stars two weeks in a row now. Sorry, Nigel, I don't think anyone really ever out-dances Kathryn.

Robert's solo: In the featurette, those were some rather tight jeans Robert wore to the batting cages... For the solo, Robert's wearing his third shirt in like 5 minutes! Some cool stuff in the solo, but it could have used a little more time to develop. And it's Robert's birthday!

Lauren's solo: Lots of back bends and quick turns and hair tosses. It pretty much worked though, I guess.

AdeChike with Comfort (Tabitha and Napoleon lyrical hip-hop):

• The featurette: AdeChike's going back to hip hop. He's not going to be a nerd this time, though. And it's NappyTabs again. Ugh, what do we have to do to get Dave Scott around here?
• The dance: Comfort's packing a suitcase...not to be confused with the briefcase Mark carried around in "Bleeding Love." I don't think AdeChike's hitting his moves quite as hard as Comfort. Oh, and she just smacked him for it. Lol, it's not that big of a deal, Comfort.
• The judging: Wow, Comfort--and AdeChike--are both rather shook up. There are tears. Did she actually really hit him? Just kidding. Adam says they really made him feel the story and the emotions. Mia says that felt more real that any contemporary piece because it came from such a raw place. Mia thinks AdeChike let so much out on that floor and just gave us a really big taste of who he is. He really seems to get better reviews on hip-hop than he does on contemporary. Kenny Ortega says it was like if Wesley Snipes could dance (presumably not the Wesley Snipes who wants to marry Liz Lemon). Nigel says it's hard to critique the dancing because the routine moved to another level and compares it to "Bleeding Love" and "No Air." Yeah, yeah, yeah...

Jose's solo: Starts his solo with kind of a groovy on-his-feet dancing section. Then lies on the ground for a little while. Does a little breaking, then stands back up. Then goes back down to break for another second. Then seems very pleased with himself.

Kent's solo: Kent's bringing out the wife-beater tank top and the old-school Boys to Men. I really think he needs some help with figuring out what he should do during solos though. That seemed a bit disorganized to me.

Robert and Lauren (Dmitry Chaplin samba):

• The featurette: DMITRY!!! I love Dmitry. This routine is about a beach party too. This is the first ballroom routine done by two non-ballroomers this season, so it should be interesting.
• The dance: That's what Lauren's wearing to a beach party? It looks like a cocktail dress with the middle ripped off. Robert's made a few slight awkward stumbles. Lauren looks pretty good with the technique though. Their side-by-side "shaking it" was good. Ok, Rob just barely got her off the ground when he was supposed to be swinging her around in a circle. Uh, she can't be that heavy, dude.
• The judging: Adam, however, thinks that Robert's lines were "so crisp and clean" and he did good partnering. Ok... He thinks Lauren's retractions, etc. were great. Mia thinks Rob actually looked like a samba dancer. Mia thinks Lauren's in plie a lot, which brings a heaviness to her dancing. KENNY, HIRE DMITRY FOR SOMETHING! Kenny thinks Rob's partnering was "amazing." What was I watching then? Nigel says Robert's upper body reminded him of Dmitry. Maybe they just don't want to be mean to Robert on his birthday. Nigel thought Lauren was very good, but he's sure "people will attack her" for her technique. Well, whatever. I miss Mary Murphy.

AdeChike and Jose (Dmitry paso doble with assistant Legacy):

• The featurette: Legacy! Hey, maybe Legacy can show Jose some breaking moves while he's at it... If ever there were a time for a hip hop, it would be this pairing. There are two matadors in this paso. Why is Jose always fighting/hunting people?
• The dance: Uh, how long are we going to stand here swinging our capes, boys? Once they actually started doing stuff, Jose had moments where he actually looked pretty good, and then had moments where he looked pretty horrible. Actually, this whole dance had moments were it looked pretty terrible. I say this was a bad experiment. It would have gone better if Dmitry and Legacy had just danced it themselves.
• The judging: Adam loves how committed they were. Technically, they put their strength into it, but Jose needs to stretch his legs. Adam thinks AdeChike needs more abandon. Mia says she thinks they did ok in a very unhappy sounding tone. She says their focus was great, but their technique wasn't. Kenny thinks it was a valiant effort, and it was an interesting exercise. Lol. Nigel calls the other judges "diplomatic." Nigel thinks if you look at how ballroom guys do the paso, AdeChike have a lot to learn. Again, I miss Mary Murphy. I'd love to hear her kick somebody's ass over ballroom technique.

Kent and Billy/Twitch (Chuck Maldonado step routine):

• The featurette: Oops, no, Kent, you don't get to dance with Billy Freaking Bell. HA HA HA HA HA HA! SYTYCD does its first stepping routine and they give it to Billy Bell and Kent! That is too funny. Kent keeps hitting himself in the face.
• The dance: Stepping in for Billy is Twitch. Aww, I love their collegiate cardigans. Ok, Kent is definitely not out-dancing his All Star in this one. He's doing ok, but Twitch is good. Twitch is even doing the grunts and yelling. Kent looks like he's trying really hard, while Twitch looks like he's stepping.
• The judging: Adam pats SYTYCD to the back for introducing "new and different" dance styles to the world. Um, stepping is not new to me; I just saw some this past weekend. Booyah, Adam! Adam thinks Kent kicked the routine's ass. Mia didn't know Kent had it in him and she lives for the chemistry between Twitch and Kent. Mia confirms that Kent is the one to beat. Kenny says 12 years ago he and Chuck brought stepping to the Olympic Opening Ceremonies for the first time. In Nagano? Huh? I'm thinking he did his math a little wrong there. 2010 - 12 = 1998 = Nagano. Did I mishear him? I really don't think there was stepping in the Opening Ceremonies in Japan. Nigel says his "Five Guys Named Mo" routine was stepping and Chuck helped him choreograph it. Nigel says he would have loved to have seen Billy do the routine because he knows he would have nailed it and it would have been fun to see the two white boys kill it.

My favorites:

Robert and Lauren's jazz; Kent and Kathryn's jazz; Kent and Twitch's stepping

The dancers dance around a cake commemorating the 150th episode of the show. Twitch does some paso doble moves that totally school Jose and AdeChike.

SYTYCD: Putting on Boogie Shoes

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 7 Performance Show

• Umm, now where's Ashley?! Come ON!
• Cat is wearing a slamming multi-colored artistic print dress with a purposefully messy side fishtail braid.
• After rehearsals on Monday, Ash was taking to the hospital with severe rib pain. She has been advised not to dance tonight. Oy vey! At this point, the winner is going to be the one who can make it the longest without getting injured.
• Same rules apply to Ashley that applied to Alex. (Is this the first time ever on SYTYCD that the same rules apply to different contestants? Just kidding.)
• Alex had surgery on Monday and it seems to have gone well.
• Anya's doing some double duty this week. Which is odd, because they have lots of boy contestants to go around.
• A gold star means Dominic? Lol. So, Dom's going to remind us what a good b-boy looks like?

Lauren with Mark (Tiana's Tahitian dance):

• The featurette: Hmm, Tahitian dance sounds interesting. Mark certainly is the man for the job.
• The dance: OMG, Mark's wearing a loin cloth. I don't really know what I should be watching for, but Lauren is good at wiggling her butt, which is about 90% of what she's being called on to do. Mark looks like a natural; I wonder if he ever did similar dancing in Hawaii before.
• The judging: Nigel doesn't know what to say. Adam says Lauren's hips don't lie. Nigel is rather flustered. Mia says it was absolutely fascinating and it looked like a duck in heat. Mia can't believe they were able to do this in the amount of time they were giving. Adam: "Mark, who are you?!" (Mark: "Why do all you judges love me so much now, but you weren't nice to me at all when I was actually on the show?" Ok, he didn't really say that.) Cat hands the mic to Lauren, and she gives a speech like she just won an Oscar.

AdeChike with Anya (Liz Lira salsa):

• The featurette: The dance is fast, it's intricate, and there are death-defying stunts. The dance drew blood in practice.
• The dance: Wow, AdeChike's outfit is tragic. Anya's is really, really neon. I think maybe they should have focused more on teaching AdeChike the proper salsa technique and less on the stunts, because something doesn't look right about his general performance. All of the lifts/twist/general-flinging-around-of-Anya, however, was quite good. The opening throw-twist thing was insane.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Liz Lira is a crazy person. Nigel says salsa is a totally alien subject for a contemporary dancer like AdeChike, but he totally pulled it off. (Really?) Mia thought the choreo was great and that the tricks were awesome. She saw some little bumps though. And she thought his hips were a little awkward, but thinks he got through it. Anya says this routine was truly competition style. Adam commends AdeChike fighting through the "hard-ass choreography" and never showing a sign of weakness. So I guess the judges are going for the old "when we are mean to you, you get lots of votes, so we're going to be fairly nice to you in hopes that people don't think they have to vote for you."

Jose with Courtney (Joey Dowling Broadway):

• The featurette: Joey's being a lot nicer to Jose than she usually is to the dancers. They seem to be focusing entirely on working on Jose's sad face, when I'm thinking they should be doing a little more dancing.
• The dance: Well, Jose's doing a fairly good job, but this routine is also ridiculously slow. Oh, it's the "Mr. Cellophane" song that Curt sang on the Glee pilot! As for the routine, I didn't have a giant problem with it, but I wasn't impressed either.
• The judging: Nigel thinks the routine took Jose's happy personality from him, which took away his greatest asset, leaving you to see only his dancing, which isn't very good. Ouch, Nigel! How many weeks in, you finally realize he's not a great dancer? Mia wants to say something harsh, but she's having a hard time saying it to Jose because he looks so sad. Mia says there was no hope in the performance and he didn't have technique to back up the performance. Adam says Jose needs more extension in his moves. Nigel cuts in to say that Jose needs dance lessons. Adam says Jose's bell kick was "neither here nor there." Courtney tries to stick up for Jose a bit. Cat says Courtney's going to put the showgirl outfit back in Adam's dressing room now.

Robert with Allison (Travis Wall contemporary):

• The featurette: Allison's all better! Yea! Travis says this routine is about his mom, who just had major surgery. Robert can relate because his mother has had similar experiences. Ok, the footage of the three of them doing the moves together was exceptional! Travis should do the routine with them!
• The dance: Ok, I love that to play Travis, they put Robert in cargo shorts and a partially undone button-down shirt. Wow, son of a gun, Robert is totally holding his own next to Allison in the side-by-side section! Color me surprised and impressed. Ok, that routine was good. That was like a moderately less emotionally-exploitative version of the cancer dance.
• The judging: The judges give it a standing O. Robert and Allison (and Cat) are fighting tears. So is Travis. Nigel compares it to Mia's "Addiction" and Tyce's cancer dance. Nigel says if the audience doesn't support Robert this week, we're crazy. He calls Allison one of the "greatest dancers we've ever had on SYTYCD." Mia's crying too, because the dance reminded her of the week before her mom passed away. Mia thinks that dance was bigger than the show and that our moms are everything. She thinks it was the best Robert has danced this season. Adam says if Travis doesn't get an Emmy nomination for that, there's no God. Personally, I wouldn't tie God to Emmy nominations, because those things are notoriously ridiculous. Adam thinks it was one of the performances of the season.

Cat plugs the Season 7 tour, but, seriously, at this rate who is going to be healthy enough to perform in it?

Billy with Anya (Louis van Amstel jive):

• The featurette: Poor Anya is the hardest working girl in show business tonight. Anya's presence makes Billy laugh awkwardly.
• The dance: I'm going to call this one of the best jive's we've seen in a while. Billy certainly kept the energy level very high, and I actually believed him in the rock-and-roll, I-want-to-sleep-with-Anya character.
• The judging: Nigel thought Billy worked harder at a connection with his partner this week than other weeks. Nigel thinks he needed to "get down" a little bit on the jive technique but thought it was pretty good overall. Mia thought it was a great performance. Mia thought his technique and training were everything in that piece. Cat tries to ask Billy a question about Anya being a "sex bomb" and Billy can't understand what she's trying to say at all. He thinks she's saying "sex bum" and can't for the life of him understand what she means. It's hilarious. Adam thinks Billy was totally in control during the routine. And Nigel cuts in again to try to make yet another reference to the World Cup.

Kent with Neil (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

• The featurette: It's the wholesome (and somewhat cheesy) combo of Kent and Neil. The dance has a baseball theme.
• The dance: This would be better if there were a few more baseball player dancers on stand up there with them. It's just a little bizarre with only two guys. Baseball isn't a partner sport. They both did a good job though. Very high-energy and athletic performances.
• The judging: Nigel says Tyce threw every trick in the book. Nigel says he went to see the All-Star Game last night. He says Kent was the MVP tonight and said that Kent was out-dancing All-Star Neil. Mia says she loves boys so much. She enjoyed the strong male dancing. Adam tells Tyce that the routine was so awesome. He thinks Kent has a huge future in Broadway. He liked how effortlessly they made it look. The judges keep raving about Kent, but Neil looks better in the baseball uniform at least.

Lauren and Billy (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: Billy tells us that Lauren eats like a squirrel. Lauren says that Billy is obsessed with soda. The concept of the dance is that two shoes meet up and want to boogie. Um, ok.
• The dance: Whoa! The boogie shoes are sparkly! I'm loving Billy in this. Like hardcore loving him. He just looks like so much fun! Lauren's doing well too. Her dress could be better though. To me, this routine for Billy was like the hip hop routine for Alex: it's the moment where you realize that not only is he an awesome dancer, but he's also legitimately fun to watch.
• The judging: Nigel says it was absolutely adorable. Nigel says Billy was again really connecting with his partner and that the jazz style suited him well. Nigel tells Lauren: "Don't go clicking your heels three times, dear, because you're not going home yet." Mia says the choreo and performance was "completely in the pocket." Not sure I know what that means, but it reminds me of when P.J. said "The lotion is in the basket" on My Boys. Mia thinks it was quirky and groovy at the same time. Adam says Billy finally got lost in a dance. Adam thinks Lauren could get way up there in the standings.

Jose with Dominic (Napoleon and Tabitha b-boy routine):

• The featurette: Cat says Jose "randomly picked" the gold star. Yeah, I don't believe that for a second. Dominic says that Jose has to put toilet paper on the seat every time he goes to the bathroom. Dom says they have different b-boy styles (Jose is more on the ground and flowy; Dom is more up in the air on his hands).
• The dance: Choreographing breaking too much just seems weird. In the side-by-side regular hip hop steps, Jose wasn't matching up to Dom. His breaking stuff seemed ok, but I don't think he's at the level of a Legacy or a Hok, although I'm certainly no breaking expert. At the end, Jose pulls a sword out of a rock in the middle of the stage.
• The judging: Nigel doesn't want Jose to hold the sword while he critiques him. Cat and Dom fight over the sword. Nigel says that Jose redeemed himself. And Jose starts crying again. Nigel says no other dancer on the show could have done that routine. Well, yeah, but Jose couldn't have done any of the other routines as well as any of the other dancers. Mia thought the beginning was amazing, but she still wants more training and strength, strength, strength from Jose. Adam says the criticism earlier really hurt Jose, and he still managed to come out and "school" us. Oy vey. If Jose is such a delicate little flower that he can't stand to hear honest statements about how his dancing is not up to the level of other dancers on the show, then he needs to start improving his dancing really fast, because he is just not up to the level of the other dancers on the show.

AdeChike and Kent (Dee Caspery contemporary):

• The featurette: AdeChike really likes food and wants to become a chef. AdeChike says Kent has a crush on Lauren (the non-Gottlieb Lauren).
• The dancing: I kinda missed the explanation about what the chairs mean, so I'm a little lost, but the routine itself is quite good. Lots of "strong male dancing" as Mia would say. This is a good week for Kent. AdeChike was good too, especially when he leaped over Kent.
• The judging: Nigel thought it was very good. Nigel liked AdeChike's leap. He liked that Kent underplayed it instead of being all "Hi! I'm Kent!" Nigel says that Kent stands a remarkable chance of being this year's champion. Well, duh. I could have told you that during Vegas week. Or earlier. Mia thinks Kent was great. She liked having two male dancers bringing strength but also vulnerability. Mia says it was a great week for AdeChike. She liked his lines and power. Adam says that they just taught America that a super athlete can be a super artist. He says they were both brilliant.

Robert with Kathryn (Doriana Sanchez disco):

• The featurette: Kathryn is filling in for Ashley. Robert says Ashley is in love with him. Ashley says Robert laughs really loudly.
• The dance: So how many days did Robert and Kathryn have to practice this routine together? If Ash got hurt on Monday, I guess they had like two days. Kathryn's outfit is a little bit scandalous. I can't believe they're closing such a good show with a disco. Even well-performed discos are kind of eh. They did a good enough job.
• The judging: Nigel says that back in the day, they'd do a hard disco routine and then go throw up. Thanks for that anecdote. Nigel thinks Robert gave lines and strength. He thought it was tremendous for this style. Mia says she loves Robert, but hopes she never has to see him do this again. Mia didn't think he was masculine enough to sell the routine. Adam thinks he sold fun, which is the point of disco. Adam says it's hard to look masculine when you're doing the silly disco moves. Robert's lucky he had Travis' contemporary routine to balance out this disco.

HA! I just realized who Billy reminded me of in that boogie shoes jazz number. It was Sheldon Cooper! I probably should have kept that to myself.

My favorites:
Billy and Lauren's jazz
Robert and Allison's contemporary
Kent and AdeChike's contemporary

SYTYCD: Injuries and Double Standards

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 8 Perform

• I missed the intro. I hope it wasn't as fascinating as last week's... (I say sarcastically.)
• Um, where's Alex Wong?
• There was a strange echo while Cat was trying to explain the format of tonight's show. She dealt with it like a pro.
• Oh NO! Alex was injured in practice! Eesh, after seeing the footage of his injury, I'd be stunned if Alex is back next week. That looked like a torn Achilles, actually. And Nigel finally says they think it is a ruptured Achilles! Oh noooooo! Oh dear, if that's what it is, that's going to take months of recovery (I know that thanks to Courtney Kupets). Poor Alex.
• Alex will be automatically in the bottom three and judged tomorrow. If he can't dance next week, he'll automatically be eliminated.
• I heard that Allison was also injured this week. Honestly, it's kind of amazing that more of these dancers don't sustain major injuries with all the dancing and different routines they have to do.
• Ashley and Robert pulled the quick step! Uh oh for them.
• Oh no! I'm even more bummed about Alex's injury after seeing his interview with AdeChicke, where AdeChicke was explaining that Alex can get too serious and intense in practice, and while he's talking, Alex is giving him a look of death and then ominously reached toward him. It was hilarious.
• Billy tells us that all Jose talks about is Lauren Gottlieb's butt.

Lauren with Pasha (Jean-Marc and Franz cha cha):

• The featurette: Part of Pasha's job this week is to be a hair dresser. I'll sign up for an appointment with him!
• The dance: Ok, I don't want to hear Mia saying that Lauren's not sexy anymore. This dance is entirely sex, and she's killing it. I don't know that she always had totally the proper cha cha technique (Mary Murphy would know), but she had the wiggling down. And Pasha got to look the best he's looked so far this season.
• The judging: Nigel feels the need to tell us that Lauren is a "full-bodied woman." Mia says it was "pure murderation." Not to be outdone, Adam says "Holy shampoosis." They're trying to sell us on Lauren being on an evolution. Which I guess is why they tried to convince us that she was having performance issues a few weeks ago when she really wasn't.

Jose with Lauren (Mandy Moore contemporary):

• The featurette: Oh dear, no wonder Jose's all worked up--it looks like the most of the routine is him grabbing Lauren's butt and boobs.
• The dance: Oh, hey, '80s music. I would have never seen that coming. Um, Jose isn't really doing much dancing here. Lauren's doing a lot of twisting and flipping around him, and he's helping, but as for him actually dancing, there's not much there. And when he does dance a bit, you can see why they tried to avoid it.
• The judging: Ok, Nigel clearly wasn't watching what I was watching, because he thinks Jose looked "amazing." I am clearly holding Jose to different standards than Nigel is. We're down to 8--or 7--dancers; it's time to get serious, people! Nigel just made Jose cry. Mia thinks more people--including her--should try to be more like Jose. That may well be, but this is a DANCING show. Mia thinks Jose "melted into" Lauren at the right places and "loved her." Adam says that Mandy Moore played to Jose's strengths. Adam says Jose is one of the most beloved people on this show.

Kent with Comfort (Dave Scott hip hop):

• The featurette: Kent with Comfort--this should be good times!
• The dance: In this outfit, Kent looks like he's in a boy band. Comfort looks hot in her skinny jeans and high-healed boots. Ok, other than giving me a bit of an unfortunate Will Schuester vibe, I think Kent's doing pretty darn well here. The moves looked good, and about 90% of the time his facial expressions were good and not ridiculous. This is a well choreographed routine too.
• The judging: Nigel says it was like a "soft hop" instead of a hip hop and it was a nice Justin Timberlake-style for Kent that worked well. Nigel liked Dave's routine. Mia says she wasn't mad at Kent at all and thought he kind of had a cool factor there. Cat says that Kent hit his nose twice on the bottom of her pool during the 4th of July picnic. The judges all liked Kent's waves, whatever that means. Adam says, "I love that we're sitting here talking about 'growth' and 'small,' and it sounds so disgusting!" and then gets annoyed that everyone is completely thrown off by that comment. Adam is kind of pushing the limits here tonight.

AdeChicke with Courtney (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: According to everyone involved, the dance is going to be hot.
• The dance: AdeChicke is a bartender. This is a first: we've had tables and benches and sofas and doors on SYTYCD, but never a bar. Courtney's not doing a lot of dancing; she's just crawling around on top of the bar. AdeChicke looks good through. Ok, they finally got Courtney off the bar and the dance really got started. But then they both go back to the bar, and it fizzles out a bit again. Overall, pretty good from AdeChicke. He remembered to use his personality again, which is a plus.
• The judging: Nigel thinks AdeChicke rose to the challenge of creating the character. He praises AdeChicke for dancing out of his style--but like, really, how out of his style was it? Oh dear, one of AdeChicke's contacts has fallen out. Mia disagrees with Nigel! She thinks the dancing and the style were "so not there" and at this point of the competition, we need better than that. Except from Jose. From Jose we just need joy and happiness and mediocre (at best) performances. I'm not the world's biggest AdeChicke supporter, but I think Mia was too harsh there. Adam says he thinks AdeChicke did the same character this week that he did last week, which is just stupid. As Nigel starts yelling, AdeChicke was a GEEK last week and a BARTENDER this week! Come on!

Billy with Allison/Katee (Spencer Liff jazz):

• The featurette: ACK!!! Why did Allison have to get hurt?! Billy and Allison are a dream team! KATEE!!! IT'S KATEE!!!!!!!!!!! KATEE!!!! Ok, I hope Allison feels better soon, but it's KATEE so I can't help but be excited. I love Katee. Dude, dude, dude! Does this mean that Twitch and Katee can do Mia's door routine tomorrow?!?! Pleeeeeeease!
• The dance: OMG, Katee is fantastic. Is this routine utilizing the awesomeness of either Katee or Billy though? I'm not sure. It's awfully slow in the beginning. Ok, the routine picks up some pace for the middle/end, which was better, but it still wasn't as amazing as I feel like it should have been, considering the combined merits of these two dancers.
• The judging: Nigel thinks that, outside of his solos, this was the best he's seen Billy dance. Uh, ok, whatevs. Mia also thinks that was the best she's seen Billy and calls him "fabulicious." Adam agrees and says Billy connected better with his partner than ever before. Ok, so all the judges have fallen in line to sell the story arc they invented: Billy didn't connect with his partners in other weeks and this week he did! I don't really get it. But I was also mostly watching Katee, so maybe I just missed Billy's resurgent awesomeness.

Ashley with Dominic (Tabitha and Napoleon hip hop):

• The featurette: The theme is ninja assassins and they're both trying to take each other out, which seems a bit familiar.
• The dance: Well, the ninja thing is rather literal in the costumes. There are moments where Ash looks pretty good, but there are other moments where she looks like she's in way over her head with the hip hop moves. Although I'm not sure the parachute pants are helping her any. Nor is the Ludacris/Alvin and the Chipmunks music. What the heck to chipmunks have to do with ninjas? The routine ends by the judging table, which just gives the judges an excuse to ham it up to epic proportions.
• The judging: Nigel seems not totally sold on Ashley's technique, but says that the routine was great. Mia thinks she danced that "so hard core" but there was "no kill" in her eyes. Adam thinks Ashley is a quiet contender. And, again, I'm not on the same page as the judges. I think Ash could be a contender too, but I didn't think that her hip hop was that great. Oh well.

Robert with Kathryn (Sean Cheesman jazz):

• The featurette: I missed what style this routine is supposed to be. Is it another jazz? Haven't we watched an awful lot of jazz tonight? In this dance, Robert and Kathryn are dolls who escape from their box.
• The dance: Ok, Robert as Ken doll is BRILLIANT. Props to Sean for coming up with that one. That is just an ideal utilization of his dancer. Kathryn and Robert start out the routine literally in two big boxes. The routine was really cool when they were in the boxes. The out-of-box stuff looks a little rough in places because they're twisting together and keep getting just a little tangled up. But overall the routine was pretty good. The choreo was great.
• The judging: Cat says it was "plastic fantastic." Nigel loved the concept and wished it had even more time to develop. Nigel says he went on an Internet mission to find out why Robert keeps getting put in the bottom three, and says people think he's arrogant, which Nigel says is not the case at all. Mia concurs that Robert is a very hard worker, etc., etc. I think Nigel missed the point; it's not that we think Robert is arrogant, it's that he mugs to the camera too, too, too much! Need I remind the judges of the old barf-into-the-hand-and-then-hold-up-the-number-of-fingers move? I mean, really. Anyway, Mia thinks this was a perfect piece for Robert's personality and movement. (That sounds like a backhanded compliment to me.) She does acknowledge that it "could have been tightened up a bit." Adam says Rob is so great and that he thought the routine was stellar.

Two routines a night: this is how people get injured, folks.

AdeChicke and Alex (Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood):

• The featurette: AdeChicke and Alex have a lovely rapport. AdeChicke relates better to Alex than most of the girls he has danced with.
• The dance: AdeChicke is dancing with Nakul's assistant Marla. Is she the same one who had to dance with Russell last year? AdeChicke looks pretty good here. I'm sure the judges won't love it nearly as much as they loved Jose's though. Because, you know, AdeChicke just isn't nearly as joyful. Ok, WOW! The last third of that routine was WICKED fast and AdeChicke killed it. And he charged through the series of straddle jumps that brought Alex down in the practice and just slaughtered them.
• The judging: Oh for goodness sake, now Nigel's complaining that AdeChicke put too much of his own personality in this one and needed to stick to the specific style. His plies weren't deep enough! Oh for crying out loud! How deep were Jose's plies?! Shut up. Brilliant Cat points out that there's a double standard here because the judges loved it when Jose put his own spin on Bollywood, and the crowd applauds her robustly. Mia agrees with Nigel and thinks AdeChicke's Bollywood looked more African than Bollywood. Adam starts pounding his hand and saying that AdeChicke (pound) will (pound) see it (pound) in the (pound) playback! Why do the judges seem so angry right now? Nigel cuts in to imply that AdeChicke is mad at them and he shouldn't be. Um, sorry, Nigel, he has every right to look at the three of you like you're a bunch of biased idiots, because that's what you are acting like. Seriously, I haven't liked AdeChicke much at all up until now, but after the way he's been treated tonight, I'm thinking about actually voting for him! Unbelievable. Are the judges purposely trying to be artificially mean (to inspire sympathy votes or something), or do they really think this is how to get him into the bottom three? [BTW, Courtney Galliano just tweeted: "Is anyone else in love with @catdeeley for that comment like I am?"]

Lauren and Kent (Travis Wall contemporary):

• The featurette: Lauren burps in Kent's face. Kent says she burps "like the man I'm supposed to be." The routine is about two kids saying goodbye after the prom. Travis is definitely playing to his dancers here.
• The dance: Wow, first 10 seconds were textbook Travis Wall choreo--I'd have instantly known who choreographed this even if they didn't tell me. Oh, this routine is beautiful. It includes some great lifts--Lauren can do some stunning mid-air lift splits. The end was a little frenzied, but the majority of the routine was stunning. Well danced too. In the style of the Jason/Jeanine routine, it ends with a big kiss.
• The judging: Nigel says it confirmed what a really good contemporary dancer Lauren is, what a really good contemporary dancer Kent is, and what a really good contemporary choreographer Travis is. Nigel says the pair is "really the ultimate in male and female dancers this year." Uh, Alex Wong?! Mia thought it was stunning and that Lauren was the ultimate in female dancing in that routine. Adam felt a little bit embarrassed because the connection was so honest and real and intimate. It made Adam feel weird (presumably like a creepy middle-aged man watching two teenagers make out).

Ashley and Robert (Jean-Marc and Franz quick step):

• The featurette: The piece is about a powerful man and a woman who wants to take that power. Ash and Rob are having a hard time picking up the steps in practice.
• The dance: They're using paso doble lighting for the quick step. I'm confused. Oh dear, first round of "quick stepping" wasn't too great. I think they're supposed to be bouncier. Ash looks ok; Robert looks heavy with his steps. Oh, making to contestants do the quick step with no all-stars is just mean. I've seen better quick steps on this show. And the dancers who did those better quick steps got sent home.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Robert's elbow dropped too low in the close-hold. Nigel says Robert was stiff-legged and his shape wasn't quite right, but his performance was right. Nigel thought Ashley looked absolutely lovely. Mia says they got through it and it wasn't a train wreck. Mia thought Robert's legs were too far apart (at least I think she was addressing Robert). Mia says,"It wasn't the kiss of death, it was just a really bad kiss." Lol. Adam says they got through it and were totally committed.

Billy and Jose (Sean Cheesman African jazz):

• The featurette: Billy to Jose: "What about you? What do you love about me?" Billy is worried that they might clash during rehearsal due to their very different backgrounds. For this dance, Billy is the prey (a jaguar), Jose is the hunter.
• The dance: Uh, playing to strengths here: Jose doesn't need pretty technique because he's a caveman-style hunter. Tell me, What about Billy's outfit says "jaguar"? Goth zebra maybe, but not jaguar. Hmm, there's a lot of tackling and rolling on the ground. Overall, I think it was ok. The end pose was cool. Billy's outfit is terrible. I liked the concept. I'd like to see the routine performed by like a Billy and an Alex Freaking Wong and see what we get.
• The judging: Nigel loved the concept. Nigel thought Billy's cat felt a little Broadway and not like an realistic animal. Nigel didn't think it was powerful enough from either of them. Mia doesn't really think Billy was a jaguar, but whatever animal he was, she loved it. Mia thought he was amazing. Mia thinks is was Jose's weakest performance. Adam gave some actual dancing critiques to both of them, which must have come as a shock to Jose, who has been led until now to believe that this is So You Think You Have A Joyful Personality.

They dedicate the during-the-credits final dance to Alex and he seems to love it. Oh, poor Alex. I'm also bummed that we never got to see Anya and Alex dance together.

Well, I'm exhausted. It's hard to pick favorites just due to the sheer number of routines we saw tonight.

My favorites:

• Kent and Lauren's contemporary
• Kent and Comfort's hip hop
• Billy and Katee's jazz / AdeChicke and Courtney's jazz

Overall, it seems like we saw a lot of decent routines tonight, but not very many exceptional ones.

And, again, memo to SYTYCD producers: Tomorrow. Katee. Twitch. Door. Make it happen.

SYTYCD: To the Nines

So You Think You Can Dance: Top 9 Performance Show

Cat is wearing a shiny one-shoulder mini dress. Hair down. Again seems a bit drunk...

Tonight we've got:

• Lauren with Neil
• Melinda with Pasha--again?!?
• Billy with Kathryn
• Ashley with Ade
• Robert with Courtney--again?!?
• Jose with Anya--ha
• Kent with Allison--yea!
• Adechicke with Lauren
• Alex with TWITCH--yeah! Ha ha ha.

They've gotta get Twitch on the show somehow, I guess. But, seriously, it's the third week and we're already rehashing two partnerships? Does anyone really want to see more ballroom from Melinda?

Adechike with Lauren (Dave Scott hip hop routine):

• The featurette: Adechike was inspired by Desmond Richardson. Adechike and Lauren are "muscles and cushions."
• The dance: More personality from Adechike in the first 4 seconds of this dance than in his two whole routines to date. Ok, and now they're just stripping. It was a fun routine, but I'm not sure it was anything especially difficult or earth-shaking. It didn't seem like a wow-they're-so-amazing-because-that-was-so-hard moment.
• The judging: Nigel says Dave Scott brought out a different Adechike than we've seen before. Mia says welcome to Mr. Personality. Mia says it was a solid performance. Adam tries to give a Mary Murphy-esque shriek and then gives Adechike a standing O in an early bid to win Overreaction of the Night.

Ashley with Ade (Dee Caspery contemporary):

• The featurette: Ashley is inspired by her dance teacher. Ok, ok, ok: so Nigel was complaining that Ashley's jazz last week was too similar to her contemporary in week one, so they have her do contemporary again?!
• The dance: Ashley is supposed to have no backbone, and Ade's lifting/pulling her around a lot. This routine is lovely and has some very cool moments. Well danced by Ashley and Ade. I'm liking Dee Caspery right now; more please.
• The judging: Nigel acknowledges that we're seeing more of the same, basically, but says she looked like a different dancer and moved fluidly from one move to another. He thought it was beautifully smooth. Mia says it was like a hurricane and a summer breeze. Mia thinks Ashley is a cut above the other female dancers (all two of them). Adam's beside himself again. Mr. Hyperbole says it was one of the best female contemporary performances of any season. Oh puh-LEEEze.

I'm interrupting the flow here to say that I HATE it when the contestants start talking in the middle of the judging. I realize the judges are just spewing out a whole lot of nonsense, but shut up. Contestants shouldn't get to sway voters with chit chat. You get the featurette and the dance--and that's all I want to hear from you, personally. Especially since 90% of the things the contestants say during the judging is worthless and cliche.

Billy's solo: There's something spidery about his legs in this solo. Rather cool.

Robert with Courtney (Sonya Tayeh jazz):

• The featurette: Robert is inspired by his mom (and lists an array of horrible things that have happened to his mom). Sonya's goal is to show the world how good Robert is. Hey, brilliant! Shouldn't that always be a goal of the choreographer: showcasing the contestant well?
• The dance: Ok, no one's going to pay attention to Robert now that Courtney's in those weird pants (sparkly, different color patches down the legs, sparkly and sheer-looking at the butt). See, I just spent the entire dance describing Courtney's pants and didn't really see anything in the dance that distracted me from the pants.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Sonya's choreo suits Robert like it suits Mark. Sorry, Nigel, just because Robert looks vaguely like Mark, it doesn't make him Mark. Hey, speaking of Mark, it's not cool that he's not dancing tonight! Mia wants Robert to take ballet, which will give his movement weight and solidity and take him to another level. Adam says it was the most wonderful thing he's ever seen in all his life. Just kidding, but you totally believed me. Seriously, Adam's tip is to not "jump down" which seems like a good lesson for us all.

Best news I've heard all night: Courtney G. tweeted that she and Mark might be dancing "The Garden" again tomorrow! Oh please let it be so!

Jose's solo: A little "Super Bad" by James Brown. Remember the time Will dressed up like James Brown for her solo? That was great. Anyway...this routine opens with a long head spin, but then he works in some other holds and other b-boy stuff. It's was ok but not the best b-boy moves I've ever seen on the show.

Melinda with Pasha (Fabian Sanchez salsa):

• The featurette: Melinda is inspired by Dr. Harold Cromer. Yes, we know, Melinda. Everything she tells us in her featurettes is old news. Melinda is Colombian, so she's used to doing the salsa at parties.
• The dance: Um, if Melinda's used to doing the salsa at parties, this should be a little better. There's something weird about her footwork--leading with her heal instead of her toe maybe? Whoa, Pasha just kind of jumped over her, took her head with him on the way down, and she ended up in a back bend. (It was intentional.)
• The judging: Well, Cat and Nigel think she looks amazing. That's the nicest thing they've come up with to say, I guess. Nigel doesn't see fluidity in her movements. Mia thinks she danced as hard as she could and her shakes and shimmies were on-target, but there were moments where it looked like she had bricks on her feet and was sinking in water. Mia thought there were moments that made her regret that they sent Christina home last week. And Adam says after he watched last week's show again, he thought they'd made a mistake too. Well, DUH. That's what most of us thought last week. (And that's why America keeps putting Melinda in the bottom three.) Please try to keep up, Mia and Adam. Geez. Or just let America pick who goes home. Either way, there's no use talking about it now.

Kent's solo: Kent does a nice leap and a nice tumbling series, but he needs to come up with some more impressive things to do in his solos in the future.

Alex's solo: Dancing to music from the Planet of the Apes soundtrack, Alex, meanwhile, has plenty of firepower in his repertoire, but could stand to relate to the audience more. Does a cool leap series straight into rolling on the ground.

Lauren with Neil (Joey Dowling Broadway):

• The featurette: Lauren is inspired by her Student Council advisor.
• The dance: Neil's really selling his reading-the-paper intro acting. Lol at Neil's knickers and socks--that outfit is just as distracting as Courtney's pants were. Whoa--the strap of Lauren's dress totally broke, but the top of her dress managed to stay up and she kept on going! Eeesh. I guess the top of the dress was fortunately taped on to her, because I don't know how else it was staying up. Anyway, aside from the clothing, I thought the dance was good, but it seemed like it was just missing a little something, although I'm not sure what.
• The judging: Nigel: "Needless to say, I enjoyed that tremendously." Mia: "I'm sure you did." Ha. Neil's being sweet and trying to help keep Lauren's dress up while they're listening to the judging. Mia wants Lauren to dance a little more sexily. Adam thought she was great.

Ashley's solo: Wastes too much time in the beginning just kind of standing there, but then picks it up and does a pretty cool solo with some nice moves and good musical interpretation.

Billy with Kathryn (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Billy was inspired by Legacy when he saw him in a show when Billy was 12! That's cool.
• The dance: Billy's doing a good job of holding his own in this one and not just letting Kathryn steal the show, which she is apt to do. The routine is very well constituted in that it gives both dancers moments to shine. Legacy's in the audience and he looks like he's in tears!
• The judging: Nigel doesn't think Billy partners that well and needs to work on connecting to his partners. Nigel says Billy is a sensational dancer though. Mia thinks that sometimes Billy gets too caught up in his lines and we lose him. Adam thinks that Billy's "going to see it all in playback." STOP SAYING THAT! If the only critique is that the dancers should watch themselves on tape and they'll see what was wrong, then why do we need judges? Just sit the dancers in a room, having them watch the tape and tell us what they think. Anyhow, that critique was a bit harsh. Billy looked mad.

Robert's solo: I think it's better than the one he did last week, but I'm not blown away. Something about it reminded me of Huck Finn. And the best part was that he didn't do the old fake-barf-and-flash-the-number-of-fingers thing.

Jose and Anya (Dmitry Chaplin samba):

• The featurette: Jose was inspired by Bruce Lee and has supposedly applied Bruce Lee's philosophy to breaking. DMITRY! Just let Dmitry and Anya do the dang samba!
• The dance: Anya is fierce and Jose is..trying. And they are using the table to try to hide Jose's lack of skill, I think. He's not completely terrible anyway. He was certainly trying. Bruce Lee's daughter is in the audience.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Dmitry brought out the man in Jose. Nigel says Jose is not the best dancer, but that he has a charisma that no one can teach and he brings it to all his routines. Mia says he's not a great dancer in the different genres, but he gets away with it because he brings humbleness and joyfulness. He just makes them happy and not care about the flaws. Adam has forsaken full sentences and just lists works like "joy" and "ego-free." And it's time like these where we miss Mary Murphy because she at least knew what ballroom technique should be and usually pointed out what was right/wrong.

Melinda's solo: Tapping to "Empire State of Mind." It seems like she's trying to tap too fast for the slowness of the music. So that might have hammered home Nigel's point about her maybe not feeling the music.

Kent and Allison (Mandy Moore jazz):

• The featurette: Oops, I was out of the room and missed what Kent said inspires him. I'm sure whatever he said, it was adorable.
• The dance: Well, this is probably the most boring Allison's looked so far this year...but she's still awesome. Well, the dance was fine. Kent's shirt situation is weird--he's got suspenders twisted around the front of him or something. The whole thing was just kind of unremarkable, really, which is annoying because the Kent/Allison pairing had a lot of potential.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Kent's expressions are starting to get a little fake. Nigel thought he was playing to the audience instead of playing to his partner. Mia thinks Kent gets caught up in the television personality of it instead of the integrity of the dance. She thought the way he translated the dance was a little green. Adam says Kent has to lose the "hungry jazz face" because he's better than that. And he'll "see that in playback." Argh, Shankman!

Adechike's solo: Wearing camo cargo shorts. He's doing a good job of interestingly interpreting the music, but he didn't get much floor coverage or do many "wow" moves. Kinda looked like a martial arts display at times.

Lauren's solo: Lol at Lauren holding a strange opening position during Cat's whole intro. Lovely little routine to a slow "Unchained Melody" cover. Not a ton of playing to the audience, though, which the judges would probably pounce on.

And now on to the main event...

Alex and Twitch (Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop):

• The featurette: Alex was inspired by Edward Villella of the Miami Ballet. Alex's biggest problem is not going to be hip hop or dancing with Twitch...it's going to be dancing a NappyTabs routine.
• The dance: Ha, Twitch is Alex's therapist. Lots of couch dancing at first. Once they get off the couch, I gotta say, Alex did a pretty darn good job of matching Twitch. And, holy crap, most hip hop dancers can't do extensions like that. Oh, that dance was fun! Go Alex. He had so much personality in that dance, but in his solo it was like meh. But the best part was that the routine wasn't 'lyrical'! The audience loses it.
• The judging: Nigel says it was the best NappyTabs routine ever on the show. I think Nigel just said that a ballet dancer just did "the most incredible hip hop ever" and that the routine should be nominated for an Emmy. That was a last-ditch attempt to take the Overstatement of the Night title away from Adam, no doubt. I mean, best hip hop ever? Perhaps I misheard. Mia says Alex has defied everything about the ballet world. Mia says Alex held his own next to Twitch, the best in the business. Adam's finally found a routine worthy of his hysterics and he's going all out.

My favorite routines of the night:

Partners:
Alex and Twitch's hip hop
Billy and Kathryn's contemporary
Ashley and Ade's contemporary

Solos:
Billy, Ashley

SYTYCD: The Top 10 Dance

So You Think You Can Dance:
"Top Ten Performance Show"

• I was AFTV (away from TV) last night, so I'm just catching up on the performance show now.
• This "behind the scenes" intro is lame.
• Hey, looks like they figured out how to film their intro dances so that we can actually see them.
• Cat is wearing a knee-length white frock with feather embellishments on top and at the hem.
• Why doesn't Cat pronounce Mia's name "Mee-errrr"? I thought that's how Brits pronounced it.
• Oooh, we get to see the "random" draw.
• Kathryn's the all-star for Bollywood?
• Booo, no Neil or Twitch tonight. See you later, guys... (By the way, I flat-out refuse to write it "tWitch." Sorry, buddy.)

Christina with Pasha (Jean-Marc and France paso doble):

• The featurette: Whoa, the lift/toss/catches in this routine are scary.
• The dance: PASHA! Ok, it's out of my system. I don't really associate Pasha with the paso doble, personally, but I don't really know why. Christina looks good. Her dress is cool too. Wow, kind of a risque ending there (Pasha lying on the ground, Christina straddling him.)
• The judging: It's nice that they let the all-stars come over to stand with the contestant for the judging this week. It was very awkward how they made them slink off the stage last week. Mia "kinda thinks it was everything." Judges agree that it was a great start. Cat asks if Pasha is the perfect partner and Christina answers yes.

Adechike with Allison (Mandy Moore contemporary):

• The featurette: Oh no, Adechike's family had a fire several years ago so they don't have any pictures or video of his early years in dance. That's upsetting. Adechike pulled a good partner this week. Not sure why he got to do contemporary last week AND this week. That's a little bizarre--and a large gift. LOL, Mandy just said, "This week we are not doing a dance..." and I finished the sentence in my head with "that is set to a song from the '80s" and got all excited. She really said that it didn't have story. Allison and Mandy worked with Adechike to help connect him with his partner and not look angry.
• The dance: I like Allison's dress. She is exquisite. Well, I can't really even see Adechike's face because Allison is standing in front of him for a lot of the dance, so it's hard to say if he looks angry or what. Ok, sorry, Adechike, you're dancing nicely, but there's no way I can't be watching Allison during this routine.
• The judging: Nigel says he saw an improvement in Adechike's emoting this week. Nigel says he has film star looks and needs to smile. Mia says "Dance is an art form, but it's a heart form." He he, Adechike reminds us that when you're dancing, you can't see your face. Very true.

Alex with Lauren (Tyce Diorio Broadway):

• The featurette: Aww, little Alex was cute. He used to be a lot more smiley back in the day too. Maybe ballet has sucked the smile out of him? Alex has to bring coolness and sexiness. I'm a little skeptical how well he'll be able to achieve this, but we'll see.
• The dance: Something about Alex's outfit is a little girly. Aside from that, I think he's doing a fine job with the choreo (which isn't the best Tyce has ever served up, in my opinion) and the style. And every time he does a leap, it's pure gold.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Alex needs to bring a little more power to his performance. He thinks Alex will really have to work hard with changing styles. Mia wanted it to be more "inside" and "sinewy" to nail the Fosse style. Adam didn't think it had many levels--it was all flash and no smolder.

Ashley with Mark (Travis Wall jazz):

• The featurette: Ashley's mom used to really curl Ashley's hair every day! Yikes, that's commitment. I think this is Travis' first foray into "non-contemporary" choreo on the show.
• The dance: Mark's rocking the open-shirt look. This is kind of like "smooth jazz" (or "lyrical jazz") or something. It's nice. I'm more impressed with Ashley in this than I was in the contemporary routine last week. Mad cool dive/flip thing in the middle. More personality is coming out of her than last week. Much less personality is coming out of Mark than usual though. But, boy, does Mark's chest/stomach look hot.
• The judging: Ha! Mark did a bizarre "birthday dance" for Ashley, and Cat responded, "It's not attractive, but..." Nigel didn't get the fact that this routine was "jazz" and thought it looked like a "contemporary" routine. Who cares? And how is that Ashley's problem? Don't the producers screen the routines before they go live on TV? Couldn't they have told Travis to "jazz it up" a bit if they wanted? Why is "lyrical hip hop" ok for the show but not this?

Side note: Do the judges realize how much they are sounding like a broken record this season? They say the exact same things over and over. It's ridiculous.

Billy with Comfort (Lil' C krump):

• The featurette: Billy grew up "on the mean streets of Palm Beach, Florida." Yea, it's Lil' C! I still have residual warm feelings toward Lil' C from back when I used to like him before he got on my nerves with his verbosity. Comfort: "Billy's biggest challenge is being tough. Because he's a little 'He-aaay!'" LOL! By the way, when you're krumping, you should feel like an assassin.
• The dance: Good device making Billy a little wimpy in the beginning and then having the krump kick in. Billy has just a nice, lovely balletic quality to his krumping! I'm not feeling a ton of energy and krump passion from Billy here, but I'm not really feeling it from Comfort either. It seems slow, but I guess I'm just now used to Russell's krumping, where he'd walk on stage and flat-out have a fit (sometimes while dressed in a Santa suit).
• The judging: Nigel hated the music; not sure if he was serious or just joking about being old. Nigel doesn't think Billy found the warrior in him yet, but celebrates that he put himself through it and that he gave everything he could. Mia thinks Billy knocked on the warrior's door, but was afraid to open it. Adam says that Billy was trying so hard out there. Comfort says she thought Billy was buck. Adam says it was a failed experiment. There was not enough hit, rebound and suspension.

Robert with Anya (Jean-Marc and France Argentine tango):

• The featurette: Robert was always the kid on the dance floor at weddings. Okay... Is Anya going to eat this boy alive too? Looks like Robert was creeping Anya out during the practice.
• The dance: Oooh, some very hot moments in this routine. The hotness is mostly coming from Anya, I guess, but at least Robert is keeping up and getting all the steps right. And he didn't do anything to make an idiot of himself, which is a big plus.
• The judging: Nigel thinks Robert looked magnificent up there, and says the choreo/lighting/direction were fantastic. Mia thought Robert's carriage and groundedness weren't quite right and thinks that Anya gobbled him up. Anya interrupts to come to Robert's defense. Adam sees both sides. Adam thinks Robert looked stressed out. It's times like these, I wish we had a ballroom expert on the freaking judging panel--like, I don't know, Mary Murphy--so that someone could give us a definitive verdict. OMG, Robert has taking his obsessive camera-mugging to a whole new level by doing the strangest number-plug gesture I have EVER seen. He hunched over as if to vomit and then straighted up and displayed six fingers. I'm speechless.

Melinda with Ade (Stacey Tookey contemporary):

• The featurette: Hey, as a child, Melinda was quirky! Never would have guessed. The story of the routine is exploring the relationship between Mother Earth and mankind. Melissa accidentally got hit in the face during practice.
• The dance: Why is mankind wearing such a bizarrely cut tank top? Again, I feel like I'm seeing more of Ade than I ever did when he was actually competing on this show. Melinda is doing ok, but the technique you see from the contemporary dancers isn't there for her. Could have been a lot worse though.
• The judging: Nigel editorializes about the earth message. Nigel really thought Melinda did a good job. Mia doesn't like the dress, but then again she admits that she's wearing a bedspread. Mia thought Melinda's lines (feet and legs) were very good and not what she'd expect from a tapper. Adam says she was great.

Jose with Kathryn (Nakul Dev Mahajan Bollywood):

• The featurette: Jose was a super cute baby/kid. He also used to have a big 'fro, which I like better than the cornrows he has now. Jose didn't even know how to spell Bollywood. Sound it out, Jose; it's not that hard. Kathryn says Jose has a really positive energy.
• The dance: I was a little nervous at first, but he's not that bad. It's so fast and there are so many steps and this is so not what Jose is used to doing. But he is really managing to include his own personality and look like he's having fun, which is very impressive, all things considered.
• The judging: Cat asks if this is the first time Jose's worn a headband (it is). Nigel doesn't think Jose got the whole way to India, and now he's babbling about the World Cup. Nigel says Jose's performance, however, was great. Mia says he was so wrong, but so right. She thought the groove he added to it was hilarious. Adam thinks Jose would have won the prize for the brightest light on the show...and Adam has apparently forgotten about Kent? Basically, the moral here is that if you're doing a style you're not used to, it doesn't matter so much that you don't know what you're doing as long as you attack it like it's the most fun thing you've ever done in your life.

Lauren with Dominic (Tessandra Chavez lyrical hip hop):

• The featurette: This routine is about women in abusive relationships. Geez, poor Dominic: last week he didn't even get to dance, and now this week he's an abusive boyfriend.
• The dance: Lauren's got a nice hip hop swagger. Hey, look! This is "lyrical hip hop" and I don't hate it! So the problem really is NappyTabs! This routine I rather like. The "abuser/abused" theme was there, but it wasn't so over-the-top that it became too literal, which was nice. Long hug at the end between Dom and Lauren.
• The judging: Nigel believed the performance. Lauren looks shaken up. Nigel says she needs a stronger base (needs her feet further apart). I'm impressed with Dom's restraint so far, in that he's not trying to be all over Cat yet. Mia liked it, but thought the "abuse" should have been more literal and disturbing. Mia thought it was one of the best of the night. Adam appreciates that Lauren listened to what the judges said last week and says she turned into an actor this week. Lauren says she really tried to get to a deeper place. Cat responds with, "Dom, do you want to get to a deeper place?" and everyone--including Dominic--is shocked.

Kent with Courtney (Tyce Diorio jazz):

• The featurette: Kent still is a kid; no flashback necessary. Seems like there's a lot of jazz this week. The dance is about an on-again/off-again couple, who want each other, but don't. Kent says this can kind of transfer into his life somewhat, but not really. Kent: "I get to work with Courtney for the first time and she doesn't even care--you can touch her all you want, and that's new." Hahahahahaha!
• The dance: The outfits are a tad strange--and the choreo is rather Sonya-esque. Overall, I liked it. I think they danced it very well, and I think Kent did throw some sexiness into it. I think the choreo could have been a little bit cooler, and then the dance would have been awesome.
• The judging: Nigel asks about Kent's strange outfit and Kent says, "I think a lot of people, when you say 'Kent,' picture me in this." Nigel enjoyed it, and confirms that it was "jazz" in his opinion. That's for nailing that down for us, Nigel. Nigel didn't think Kent had as much fun with this jazz as he did with last week's cha cha. Mia thinks Kent has such a big personality that he stays in "Kent World" instead of fitting the character of the routine.

My favorites:

• Lauren and Dom's lyrical hip hop
• Ashley and Mark's jazz
• Kent and Courtney's jazz
• Robert and Anya's Argentine tango

Guilty pleasure:

• Jose and Kathryn's Bollywood

In trouble:

• Christina
• Melinda
• Adechike