We're still recovering from last week's double elimination, but the show must go on, people. Let's see what the lucky 8 remaining couples bring to So You Think You Can Dance this week.
Deeley style check: Hollywood starlet! Cat was nothing short of a glamorous movie star with her rhinestone mini-dress, long sparkly earrings, and Marilyn Monroe hair. Sassy!
At the judges' table: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Lil' C, and spunky Glee guest Kristin Chenoweth!
On to the performances, including two bonus group numbers, plus a look back at our contestants' first-ever performances!
Dancers: Sasha Mallory, Chris Koehl, Ryan Ramirez, Marko Germar, Clarice Ordaz, Tadd Gadduang, Miranda Maleski, and Mitchell Kelly
"Hit the Road Jack" by Tyce Diorio
Style: Broadway
As you're know, we love routines that involve throwing chairs around, so we were pumped for this Tyce number that had the girls throwing the guys around, too. The women literally rolled the boys off the stage. Fierce!
Dancers: Sasha Mallory and Alexander Fost
"Belong" by Dee Caspary
Style: Contemporary
Both Sasha and Alexander started their careers as animals, a frog and a lion respectively. Routine-wise, these two lucked out with another emotional vehicle to shine in, not to mention their own style. The whole hands creeping out of the piano at the end, though, was kinda sorta weird. Mary felt they pulled it off, while Nigel was enthralled by the idea of a piano that pops out a sexy girl. Of course he was.
Dancers: Caitlynn Lawson and Mitchell Kelly
"Put It in a Love Song" by Jean-Marc Genereux
Style: Samba
Caitlynn's debut involved an unfortunate duck dance, while Mitchell was a late bloomer, playing Leroy at age 16 in a production of Fame. Now here's a couple that can pull of Latin ballroom. Still, their samba seemed a bit slow or out of sync with the music, but Mary thought it was spectacular and Lil' C said they murdered it. Nigel felt the need to bring up how bad Wadi was at ballroom again compared to Mitchell's moves. Can't we leave Wadi alone already?
Dancers: Miranda Maleski and Robert Taylor, Jr.
"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" by Tyce Diorio
Style: Broadway
Miranda was originally a tapper — interesting! — while Robert excelled at Michael Jackson impersonations. Tonight, they were finally given a routine that was able to show off their true potential. Kristin had nothing bad to say, while Lil' C pondered to Miranda, "With legs like that, who needs arms?" Nigel commended Robert's ability as a partner, as did Miranda. Aw, how sweet.
Dancers: Melanie Moore and Marko Germar
"I Got You" by Nappytabs
Style: Lyrical Hip Hop
Melanie's first performance was as Little Bo Peep in a ballet-tap combo, while Marko was a jazzy hip hopper. That being said, the pair pulled off hip hop beautifully. This was one of those classic NappyTab routines where you get totally sucked into the story, in this case best friends who fall in love when he gets left at the altar. A mid-dance smooch inspired Nigel to plant one on Mary (awkward), while Kristin was very moved and touched, which urged her to make out with Lil' C, which then urged Nigel to make out with Lil' C. Yeah, things were pretty out of control.
Dancers: Ashley Rich and Chris Koehl
"Lights Go Down" by Sonya Tayeh
Style: Jazz
Ashley's debut involved a red tutu and a shopping cart (yeah, weird), while Chris's first time on stage was a speedy poetry reading. The duo was terrified to be paired with Sonya, and we were a little spooked by the end result. From the half Beetle Juice makeup to the weird outfits, we weren't really getting it. Nigel critiqued the song choice, while Kristin told Ashley she was one of her favorites of the season (after apologizing for being the Paula Abdul of SYTYCD). Lil' C spewed a bunch of nonsense we didn't even try to follow.
Dancers: Clarice Ordaz and Jess LeProtto
"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jean-Marc Genereux
Style: Foxtrot
Little Clarice had her premiere at two-and-a-half — cute! — while Jess spent his stage debut waving at his mother in a cowboy outfit. In the second ballroom routine of the night, Jess and Clarice rocked this smooth-as-butter foxtrot. No problems with lifts this week! After getting Mary's expert approval, Kristin deemed the routine her favorite performance of the night.
Dancers: Ryan Ramirez and Ricky Jaime
"With Every Heartbeat" by Sonya Tayeh
Style: Contemporary
Ryan started her stage career at the age of four, where she was the only one who knew the steps, while Ricky completely blanked out during his debut. Hands down, Ricky and Ryan got the far superior Sonya piece this evening. The couple interpreted a relationship ending (shocker!), with an actual scarf symbolizing the tie between them, and it was beautiful. Lil' C declared the performance "buckness," Mary gave them props for their success with the... prop, while Nigel expressed his pride at saving this couple last week.
Dancers: Jordan Casanova and Tadd Gadduang
"Memories" by Nappytabs
Style: Hip Hop
Jordan's first dance performance was as a mini Spice Girl, while little Tadd used to perform in Filipino cultural dances. The couple took on a NappyTab routine portraying a college drunken hook-up — you know, where you don't know who you're waking up next to. After some initial awkwardness, the co-eds end up getting back under the sheets, with Tadd giving the audience a thumbs up. For this reason alone, this routine was pretty awesome. Nigel predicted the pair would stick around, Mary loved it, and Kristin felt it was tasty dessert.
Dancers: Jordan Casanova, Ricky Jaime, Melanie Moore, Robert Taylor, Jr., Caitlynn Lawson, Jess LeProtto, Ashley Rich, Alexander Fost
"Poison & Wine" by Dee Caspary
Style: Contemporary
Once again the ladies roared their dominance over the men, taunting them with mystery beverages, which they eventually force the men to drink. We're not really sure what was going on, but the dancing was quite gorgeous and a drink sounds like a fabulous idea right about now.
Based on tonight's performances, we're guessing Ashley and Chris, Miranda and Robert, and Jordan and Tadd might be seeing the Bottom 3, but your guess is as good as ours.
Deeley style check: Hollywood starlet! Cat was nothing short of a glamorous movie star with her rhinestone mini-dress, long sparkly earrings, and Marilyn Monroe hair. Sassy!
On to the performances, including two bonus group numbers, plus a look back at our contestants' first-ever performances!
Dancers: Sasha Mallory, Chris Koehl, Ryan Ramirez, Marko Germar, Clarice Ordaz, Tadd Gadduang, Miranda Maleski, and Mitchell Kelly
"Hit the Road Jack" by Tyce Diorio
Style: Broadway
As you're know, we love routines that involve throwing chairs around, so we were pumped for this Tyce number that had the girls throwing the guys around, too. The women literally rolled the boys off the stage. Fierce!
Dancers: Sasha Mallory and Alexander Fost
"Belong" by Dee Caspary
Style: Contemporary
Both Sasha and Alexander started their careers as animals, a frog and a lion respectively. Routine-wise, these two lucked out with another emotional vehicle to shine in, not to mention their own style. The whole hands creeping out of the piano at the end, though, was kinda sorta weird. Mary felt they pulled it off, while Nigel was enthralled by the idea of a piano that pops out a sexy girl. Of course he was.
Dancers: Caitlynn Lawson and Mitchell Kelly
"Put It in a Love Song" by Jean-Marc Genereux
Style: Samba
Caitlynn's debut involved an unfortunate duck dance, while Mitchell was a late bloomer, playing Leroy at age 16 in a production of Fame. Now here's a couple that can pull of Latin ballroom. Still, their samba seemed a bit slow or out of sync with the music, but Mary thought it was spectacular and Lil' C said they murdered it. Nigel felt the need to bring up how bad Wadi was at ballroom again compared to Mitchell's moves. Can't we leave Wadi alone already?
Dancers: Miranda Maleski and Robert Taylor, Jr.
"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" by Tyce Diorio
Style: Broadway
Miranda was originally a tapper — interesting! — while Robert excelled at Michael Jackson impersonations. Tonight, they were finally given a routine that was able to show off their true potential. Kristin had nothing bad to say, while Lil' C pondered to Miranda, "With legs like that, who needs arms?" Nigel commended Robert's ability as a partner, as did Miranda. Aw, how sweet.
Dancers: Melanie Moore and Marko Germar
"I Got You" by Nappytabs
Style: Lyrical Hip Hop
Melanie's first performance was as Little Bo Peep in a ballet-tap combo, while Marko was a jazzy hip hopper. That being said, the pair pulled off hip hop beautifully. This was one of those classic NappyTab routines where you get totally sucked into the story, in this case best friends who fall in love when he gets left at the altar. A mid-dance smooch inspired Nigel to plant one on Mary (awkward), while Kristin was very moved and touched, which urged her to make out with Lil' C, which then urged Nigel to make out with Lil' C. Yeah, things were pretty out of control.
"Lights Go Down" by Sonya Tayeh
Style: Jazz
Ashley's debut involved a red tutu and a shopping cart (yeah, weird), while Chris's first time on stage was a speedy poetry reading. The duo was terrified to be paired with Sonya, and we were a little spooked by the end result. From the half Beetle Juice makeup to the weird outfits, we weren't really getting it. Nigel critiqued the song choice, while Kristin told Ashley she was one of her favorites of the season (after apologizing for being the Paula Abdul of SYTYCD). Lil' C spewed a bunch of nonsense we didn't even try to follow.
Dancers: Clarice Ordaz and Jess LeProtto
"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jean-Marc Genereux
Style: Foxtrot
Little Clarice had her premiere at two-and-a-half — cute! — while Jess spent his stage debut waving at his mother in a cowboy outfit. In the second ballroom routine of the night, Jess and Clarice rocked this smooth-as-butter foxtrot. No problems with lifts this week! After getting Mary's expert approval, Kristin deemed the routine her favorite performance of the night.
Dancers: Ryan Ramirez and Ricky Jaime
"With Every Heartbeat" by Sonya Tayeh
Style: Contemporary
Ryan started her stage career at the age of four, where she was the only one who knew the steps, while Ricky completely blanked out during his debut. Hands down, Ricky and Ryan got the far superior Sonya piece this evening. The couple interpreted a relationship ending (shocker!), with an actual scarf symbolizing the tie between them, and it was beautiful. Lil' C declared the performance "buckness," Mary gave them props for their success with the... prop, while Nigel expressed his pride at saving this couple last week.
"Memories" by Nappytabs
Style: Hip Hop
Jordan's first dance performance was as a mini Spice Girl, while little Tadd used to perform in Filipino cultural dances. The couple took on a NappyTab routine portraying a college drunken hook-up — you know, where you don't know who you're waking up next to. After some initial awkwardness, the co-eds end up getting back under the sheets, with Tadd giving the audience a thumbs up. For this reason alone, this routine was pretty awesome. Nigel predicted the pair would stick around, Mary loved it, and Kristin felt it was tasty dessert.
Dancers: Jordan Casanova, Ricky Jaime, Melanie Moore, Robert Taylor, Jr., Caitlynn Lawson, Jess LeProtto, Ashley Rich, Alexander Fost
"Poison & Wine" by Dee Caspary
Style: Contemporary
Once again the ladies roared their dominance over the men, taunting them with mystery beverages, which they eventually force the men to drink. We're not really sure what was going on, but the dancing was quite gorgeous and a drink sounds like a fabulous idea right about now.
Based on tonight's performances, we're guessing Ashley and Chris, Miranda and Robert, and Jordan and Tadd might be seeing the Bottom 3, but your guess is as good as ours.
