Who Went Home on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE?

[For those of you who don’t watch SYTYCD….I’d apologize for all the posts, but I’m not going to. I told you that you should be watching.]

It was the first elimination of the season. The Top 20 performed and one guy and one girl were sent home. It’s a bit of a shame. The dancers only had one performance to show the voting audience their talent as dancers and their winning personalities. Not an easy task with a routine that was less than two minutes.

But thems the breaks, and two people were sent packing.

I’m going to make this one short and sweet because tomorrow you can hear my thoughts on this week’s performances as well as the results show on our SYTYCD podcast. So let’s get down to it.

The couples were split up into three groups.

Group 1: Kherington & Twitch | Chelsea & Thayne | Chelsie & Mark

• I was nervous that one of these couples would be dancing for their lives when I saw all three grouped together. Thankfull it was a bit of a fake out as all three couples were safe and will be dancing again next week.

Group 2: Kourtni & Matt | Susie & Marquis | Chris & Comfort | Rayven & Jamie

• The first shocker of the night came with the reveal that Kourtni & Matt were in the bottom three. Joining them were Rayven & Jamie. I thought for sure it would be Chris & Comfort over Kourtni & Matt but as usual, I was wrong. Wow.

Group 3: Joshua & Katee | Jessica & Will | Courtney & Gen

• I figured this one was a no brainer. Courtney & Gev’s Disco routine would land them in the bottom three. But no. In a big old WTF moment it was Jessica and Will who were informed that they were dancing for the lives. Seriously? I wonder what the voting audience didn’t live about them. Or maybe did like about Courtney & Gev.

Dancing For Your Life…

The three girls and three guys had their chance to dance solos in their own genres. The judges would then choose one guy and one girl to leave the competition.

• First up was Kourtni Lind. I didn’t think Kourtni had anything to worry about since she is clearly one of the judge’s favorites. Her routine was a little shaky but she brought a lot of originality and strength – what she does best.

• Next her partner Matt Dorame took the stage with what I thought was a fantastic solo. He showed great range and really made use of the stage. I was a little hesitant about him last night but he showed me a lot in his solo. Well done.

• Rayven Armijo showed off some of her ballet moves – something we haven’t seen a lot of on this show over the years. I thought her routine was actually quite good. It was a funky ballet that left me wanting to see more of her.

• Jamie Bayard had to pull off the routine of his life to stay in the competition. With Matt having already done well and Will being one of the best dancers on the show, Jamie had to reach deep. And he didn’t. He was a poor imitation of Pasha and Benji and didn’t really do what he needed to do.

• Jessica King took the stage wearing some kind of ankle brace, and I’d love to say it was her injury that held her back tonight but I think it was more of a lack of preparation. It seemed like she was making up the choreography as she went along with is a big no no for this show. Her solo was really weak. Enough that I began to question if she would perhaps be the one going home.

• And last but certainly not least was Will Wingfield. He could have just stood on stage and read a book and the judges would have kept him another week. But he didn’t. He gave us a strong solo with unique moves and a strong stance. I love this guy. One of my early favorites

Leaving Us Tonight…

In the end the judges conferred and unanimously decided on the two dancers leaving tonight. And they were Rayven Armijo and Jamie Bayard. Jessica was lucky that the judges kept her based on her horrible solo and I was glad that they told her so. Nigel also made it a point to once again call Matt Dorame to the floor (I don’t think Nigel is a fan of this guy) and told him, and by default all the dancers, that for the last time they were voting on technique over personality. I’m not sure I disagree that it should be that clear cut, but if meant keeping Matt over Jamie then I’m all for it.

Bye Rayven and Jamie. So sad we didn’t get to see more of you.

Did the right dancers go home? Would you have made a different choice?