SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE Recap: Top 18 Perform

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE…dance…dance…dance. I hear the opening notes of the intro and I’m already excited. After last week’s very impressive first week of competition I’m anxious to see what we have in store for us tonight. As long as you promise me I don’t have to see Benji Schwimmer in his skivvies again then I’ll be fine.

Cat Deely welcomes us all and with the audience’s help she introduces the “Juuges”. Adopt me Cat Deely!! Tonight we have Mia Michaels joining Mary and Nigel in the judging of tonight’s dancers. Mia was still a little bitter that her favorite dancer Ricky was sent home last week. Let’s hope Mia’s mood brightens because you don’t want her of all people in a bad mood while she’s critiquing your dance.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

Lauren & Neil were first up tonight with their hip hop routine. Um, what is Lauren wearing? I think something out of Cyndi Lauper’s closet died on her. I was expecting Lauren to the be the star of this one, but it was Neil who was the one to watch (and not just because he’s adorbs). Although their routine was much, much better than last week, I didn’t love it. Lauren seemed a bit stiff and she had this crazyass permasmile going. All the while Neil was just dancing circles around her….literally. The judges liked their dance for the most part, but Mia thought Lauren has more to give.

Pasha & Jessi dazzled me last week with their waltz and killed it tonight with their African-inspired jazz routine. They were amazing, and so expressive. Pasha, Pasha, Pasha…once again you impressed me you little Russian doll you. This guy has a real range of dancing despite being trained as a Latin ballroom dancer. Jessi is a walking sexpot and these two look and dance great together. The judges all loved it. They aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And by that I mean, VOTE for them.

Hok and Jaimie were one of the couples I was most worried about tonight. Why? Because this is the first time we are going to see Hok outside of his element. Last week he lucked out with a hip hop number and Jaimie did her best to keep up. This week they danced the Samba. They both seemed a bit sluggish and not all that light on their feet, especially Jaimie. Hok wasn’t as polished as he could be, but he’s a great performer and that definitely counts for something. Mia loved it and Mary and Nigel didn’t love it. Nigel continues to rip on the choreographers. Last week it was Shane Sparks and this week it was Jean Michael Generaux. Oh and if I never have to hear Jaimie speak again it’s fine by me. She is one of those girls whose voice rises at the end of the sentence like everything is a question? Like really? Ugh.

Sabra and Dominic were up next. Can I just say that I love contemporary routines. This type of dance tells such a story. Now I don’t know what I’m looking for technically, but I know a beautiful dance, and I thought Sabra and Dominic were wonderful I can’t get over the fact Dom is a B-Boy. I kind of love him. He’s so emotionally invested in this show and I got a little teary (as did Dominic, Mia and Mary). I was afraid that Mia was going to rip him to shreds, but she didn’t, she thought it was beautiful. All the judges loved it. I love these two.

Side note: Cousin Heidi in the house y’all. She’s sitting with Benji. Anyone else think the Schwimmers eat dinner and then just dance all night long in their living room? Yeah, I think it might be a creepy house to visit.

Faina and Cedric took on the Fox Trot tonight. In my expert opinion it was neither foxxy nor trotty (why they don’t ask me to judge is beyond me). Faina really had her groove on this week. After struggling with last week’s hip hop routine I think she was happy to be back in her element. Unfortunately Cedric’s lack of ballroom training was really obvious tonight and Faina was almost a non-factor. The judges all loved Faina but all were down on Cedric – just the opposite of last week when Cedric was the one praised. I’d be shocked if these two weren’t dancing for their lives this week.

Lacey and Kameron are a sexy, sexy couple. Their chemistry is amazing (could be all the sex their having when they’re not rehearsing). I didn’t love this Broadway number as much as I wanted to, but I don’t know why. There was a ton of energy but it didn’t grab me like it should have. I’m not saying that I thought it was bad, because it wasn’t, but I just didn’t love it. Mia could have used a little more from pizazz from Kameron, but overall all the judges loved it.

Anya and Danny’s waltz was the dance I was most looking forward to tonight. Danny and his long limbs and beautiful extensions taking on the Waltz was just amazing. They are both individually such incredible dancers. Danny is mesmerizing to watch and his arms and his hands are so gorgeous (sorry but I was so taken in by him tonight). And Anya, well she’s a sexy little thing and I think she’ll be fine with any type of dance thrown at her. Bravo to Danny & Anya. It really worked for me…and the judges (hell, they got a Mary Murphy scream).

Shauna and Jimmy were the one couples I forget was even on the show. Not a good sign. Was it because they went last week? Who knows. OK first off, I so want those SYTYCD running pants and hoodie. How fun?! As for their dance, they get an ‘eh’ from me. The stepping didn’t really work. It wasn’t nearly effective as it should have been and it seemed a bit behind the beat. Shauna was smooth, and Jimmy was a little jerky but overall they were ok. Not great, but ok. The judges liked it much more than I did. Do I need a rewatch? Hmmm.

Jesus and Sara are the dance partners that I just want to hug. They were so great last week with Wade’s number but I was nervous with them taking on the Paso Doble. Sadly, I don’t think I will ever think of this dance and not think of Drew Lachey killing it to “Thriller” on Dancing with the Stars. But this is a much better dance show so back to it. In tonight’s routine I was so distracted by the choice of music (“We Will Rock You” by Queen) that it took me out of the dance a bit. Was I at a Patriots game or watching a dance routine? At times I thought Jesus was a little too expressive but he was really strong. But let me tell you, during the second half of the dance they really picked it up and performed the hell out of it. Overall it was well done. Mia and Mary agreed with me on the music front in as much as it was a buit distracting. Nigel praised them both and continued the love fest with his B-Girl Sara.

And those were your top 18 dancers. Again, this group is amazing!! It’s really difficult to pick the bottom three, but I have to so here it goes:

• Jimmy and Shauna
• Faina and Cedric
• Neil and Lauren

And of course it’s so hard to say before their solos, but I’ll guess that Cedric and Shauna are bye bye after tomorrow night.

Who do you think will be the bottom three couples? Any standout routines for you tonight?

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