So You Think You Can Dance: The Top 20 Perform

So here we go, So You Think You Can Dance. It felt like it would never come, but the first dances are here, and all I want to do is get DOOOOOOWN! Cat Deeley looks fantastic, and all I can say is that I love her. Just like American Idol would be nothing without Seacrest, SYTYCD needs its Cat. Let’s get started!

Jeanine and Phillip

Jeanine never knew that her body could do what it now does. Phillip, on the other hand, must have had no idea as well but he must have seen the making of something special as he practiced in his window’s reflection to the sounds of the street. Tabitha and Napoleon choreograph a beautiful lyrical hip hop routine for the two, but Jeanine isn’t really a hip hopper. Or is she? I know Phillip should kill it, but for the first time I’m reminded of how beautiful and wonderful Jeanine is. She reminds me a bit of last year’s little Chelsie.

Adam believes it was unfreaking real, especially with no hip hop experience Jeanine. She held her own against Philip who he says has grown so much. And no one will ever dance like him. He’s also so generous and present for his partners which you wouldn’t expect from him. We get the first scream of the night from Mary who thought Jeanine was in sync and fluid. And she was worried about the chemistry with Phillip and his partner but he surprised her. Nigel reiterated what the judges said, but he acknowledged that Phillip already has a following but Jeanine showed people why they should vote for her.

Final Say: They’re a sure bet.

Asuka and Vitolio

Surprise, surprise. Asuka was a ballet dancer until she went to college, where she fell in love with ballroom. Vitolio grew up believing, due to familial circumstance, that he couldn’t ever do anything good. Will he do well with Tyce DiOrio‘s Broadway routine? It’s like a silent picture dance, and they both look adorable in their old school costumes and makeup. The first routine is a tough one to follow in terms of excitement and emotion, so this one felt a little lackluster to me. It was danced beautifully, but the storytelling was missing.

Adam thought the performance was a little artificial, but that it’s clear they’re great dancers. Mary felt that they didn’t bring the dance to life, instead playing it safe. And Nigel believes their dancing was strong, and their lines were beautiful, but that the audience is expecting to see more of their personalities and that they didn’t give it wholeheartedly.

Final Say: They’re in the bottom, no contest.

Karla and Jonathan

Karla likes a challenge, and after performing in two traveling Broadway shows, she wanted something to fill a void she was feeling. Jonathan started dancing because of Season One, and thankfully this show is in existence to inspire future dancers in this way. Dancing to a Cha-Cha by Tony Meredith, I’m always scared for ballroom on the first night, but these two are so cute, save for Jonathan’s endless sweat. I’ve never seen a Lady Gaga salsa, but I was pleasantly surprised. Jonathan is lucky this is in his area but I think he should have brought it more, and I think Kayla turns out to be captivating on screen.

Adam thought it was really good. They “beeped” him up. He could have seen more roll from Jon, but he saw a man dance instead of a boy. Mary likes her Cha-Cha rough! AHHH. And Jon gets the scream he was looking for. Nigel feels that they are a couple that has slipped under the radar but put themselves on the map. He liked the explosion of their chemistry too.

Final Say: They’ve just cha-chaed their way into the next round.

Randi and Evan

Randi is a married, country girl so partnering is going to be a little hard for her, or so she says! Evan has to say goodbye to his brother but at least he and the other brother are there to support him. Tyce does another go round with Jazz. Usually this is the style that wows the viewer, but I think this one will be my favorite of the night. It was beautifully danced and emotional, and they’re the little couple that could!

Adam thought they danced like they were eight feet tall. Randi had all the sensuality needed, and there isn’t a style that Evan can’t conquer. He also thinks it’s one of Tyce’s best pieces ever, and I concur. Mary says her eyes are wide open because they were definitely on the edge with the judges. And Nigel believes they were fabulous, and they have become the couple that people will talk about now.

Final Say: In it to win it!

Paris and Tony

Paris survived a car accident, leaving one of her legs numb from the knee down. Wow. And Tony could have played college lacrosse but wanted to dance even if it irked his father. It’s part two for hip hop with Tabitha and Napoleon. Tony has a hard time putting on a stank face, much harder than Paris. I’m always sad when hip hop doesn’t excite me. Both are competent but nothing exciting. I just imagine other dancers KILLING it, and it’s Tony’s style!

Adam liked the dancing but hated the costumes which is totally out of their control anyway. They also weren’t attacking the steps, mushing them instead. Mary doesn’t think it’ll be memorable and felt that Tony wasn’t in it the whole time. And both Mary and Nigel didn’t believe in Tony’s stank face.

Final Say: Tony better get his bottom three dance ready, because I see a solo in his future.

Caitlin and Jason

Strong Caitlin was a gymnast until she fell for dance. Jason (one of my faves!) was always an athlete who never would have thought he’d be a dancer. Now that India is SOOO HOT and last year’s Bollywood dance was so well received, Nakul Dev Mahajan is back, and I couldn’t be happier. Can he top last year’s Katie and Joshua dance? I’m not sure, but Nakul doesn’t give them anything easy, and it definitely stands up to it. It’s fun and powerful. Sometimes they weren’t in sync, but they were so beautiful I forgot about it.

Adam felt the connection between the two. Mary likes Caitlin’s strength and Jason’s charisma. Bollywood has definitely come to Hollywood. And Nigel things that there was something special to their coupling and their dancing.

Final Say: No worries for these two.

Janette and Brandon

Janette learned to dance at home with her Cuban family, and she was scared to try out, thinking a lot of people would be doing her style. (Doesn’t she know SYTYCD is contemporary-ville?) Mia and Lil’ C’s criticism hit Brandon hard, and they’ve added fuel to his fire. Doing a Louis van Amstel Foxtrot doesn’t really give Brandon the chance to show his stuff, but he does get the chance to show that he’s a great partner who can do some crazy lifts. And Janette is used to partnering so she just glides and flows gracefully.

Adam thought it worked, and never saw the character in Brandon until tonight. Mary, with some humor, says her eyebrows won’t move because of Botox, but that she loved it and adds a scream to boot. She saw Ginger Rogers in Janette and thought her lines were lovely. She also thinks Brandon is a powerhouse. Nigel’s a fan of Janette’s carriage and was impressed by Brandon but wants him to work on his feet.

Final say: Not the best but also not in the bottom.

Kupono and Ashley

After auditioning four times, Ashley has finally made it. And Kupono teaches dance but to help pay the bills he does odd (and awful sounding) jobs like scraping mildew off a wall. Choreographed by Wade Robeson, they do a funky jazz routine about crash dummies. Their costumes and makeup are off the wall, white and the style is a little harder to get into because the music pretty much totally lacks beat or bass.

Adam says he had to work to watch the dancing, but their technique is fantastic. Mary was totally in for the ride and got it 100%. She thought Kupono was marvelous, and she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Ashley. And Nigel believes that Wade and his wife are true geniuses who make people talk about dance whether they like it or not. Ashley looks beautiful, and Kupono was wonderful as a fluid and nervous character, bringing him into their world.

Final Say: They may be in the bottom of the pack just because it was so OUT THERE.

Melissa and Ade

Melissa is the “most seasoned” dancer at 29 and also the naughty ballerina. Contemporary dancer Ade loves to DJ, mixing and sound engineering so he’ll keep it in the musical family if he can’t make it at his dance passion. With contemporary and Mandy Moore, the two have to execute a lot of difficult lifts for their number one dance, and they do so beautifully, but emotionally I think something is missing.

Adam almost cries. He thinks it’s so special. He compliments Melissa saying that things do get better with age, and Ade was powerful. They get the Mary scream. She feels that she just went through the feelings of first love they were emoting. Ade is a gentle giant. And Adam adds that it’s a testament to the power of ballet training. Nigel commends the top 20, and I have to agree. He’s happy there is a ballerina on the program, and Ade finally gave America a taste of what an amazing dancer he is.

Final Say: Contemporary love dances usually do as well as contemporary “I’m angry in love” dance, so these two should have no problem.

Kayla and Max

Kayla and her single mom lived with her grandparents in order to help put her through dance classes. Max is originally from Moscow. One of his brothers died in a car accident five days ago. Louis van Amstel choreographs a Samba for the two, and apparently he’s known Max since he was 14. From the outset, there’s fire or maybe it’s just Kayla’s bright outfit. I found my eyes way more drawn to Max who’s more comfortable with this style than Kayla. She just wasn’t as sexy and confident as she needed to be in my eyes.

Adam screams how good it was. And I’m starting to think maybe I’m asking too much of these dancer on the first go out. He says Max is lucky he got ballroom and such an amazing partner who could have never looked that good without him. Mary needs an amen, and she hears a train a-coming. Finally, here’s a dance that gets Mary out of her seat and screaming. Nigel thought it was truly sensational. He gives props to Kayla for being one of the judges’ favorites. And to Max, he says that he could have easily been lost but he was great. He just wants to see more sharpness.

Final Say: They should sleep like babies.

AND THE RESULTS ARE IN…

So how did my final says fare you ask? Don’t act like you’re not dying to know.

Cat looks fabulous of course. But what’s new?! It’s crazy this lady has a size 10 foot and manages to rock those high heels every week.

We kick off with a group performance to the Black Eyed Peas‘ “Boom Boom Pow.” It’s a pretty freaking hot dance. How these kids manage to learn their genre dance, a group dance and prepare a 30 sec solo will always baffle me. (And Phillip was ridiculous!!)

So the first group is made up of Kayla and Max (who on the second go round actually did much better than I first thought), Randi and Evan, and Phillip and Jeanine, who all gave fantastic performances last night. None of them can be in the bottom, and it’s clearly a little trick to make us think it could be possible.

The next group has two of my least favorites in Ashley and Kupono and Paris and Tony, and they’re joined by Melissa and Ade. Again, at second glance, I realize that I didn’t really like Ashley and Kupono’s routine, but their dancing WAS really superb. I can’t say the same for Paris and Tony. So I’m not surprised at all when they’re in the bottom and that most of America did, in fact, enjoy the quirky, jazz routine.

So who are the final two to join them? It’s down to Asuka and Vitolio, who are great dancers but didn’t bring the personality to a less upbeat Broadway-style dance, Brandon and Jeanette, who were beautiful and graceful, and Jonathan and Karla, who were saucy. I’ve already called Asuka and Vitolio but since the jazz routine made it through it’s a hard choice. I bet that the less known dancers, ie not Brandon, will be in the bottom, and I am right.

That’s how great this season’s contestants are. There were so few missteps that even dances that got GREAT reviews go through, and all the dancers, minus Tony, who are in the bottom are pretty darn fantastic.

But before we get to see the solos we’re told that each week, SYTYCD will be spotlighting a different style dance from around the world. LOVE IT! This week it’s an oh-so-sexy tango. Oh me gusta! They are fantastic and clearly extremely experienced.

But back to OUR dancers. It’s time to remind us why they shouldn’t go, and with only 30 seconds to prove it, they better dance HARD.

Paris needs to work a little more on her technique, the follow through of her movements and her emotions. She’s clearly flexible but I need more.

Tony is doing some awful pop-n-locking. Awful. He danced so much better in the group dance. I just don’t get it. It seems like he wanted to go home. I could have done what he did. Well, besides the splits.

I always feel bad for ballroom dancers who have to do it alone. Asuka is clearly hot, and she picks a jive this time to pick things up, I’m sure. I can never tell though when they’re dancing alone if it’s ever good enough. I mean, they get to try out with partners!

Vitolio moves like butter. It seems a little rushed for the emotion the songs brings up, but he has SKILLS. No question he’s not going anywhere yet.

Karla lit up the stage last night, and tonight she looks great but I wanted to see so much more from her. Her dancing is fantastic, but she just doesn’t capture me like others do.

Jonathan is another ballroom dancer who’s going to have a hard time with solos. He relies on his gymnastic tricks because men are even more boring than girls when they have to ballroom alone.

Overall though, it’s hard to say (besides my two picks) who’s going to go. Pardon the interruption though, because while the judges confer, Sean Kingston sings “911″ for us. I really don’t like this song. It annoys me.

Thank god that’s over, and the judges are back. They came to a unanimous decision with the girls. They thought Karla’s solo was strong but Nigel warns her to be careful of just doing steps, but she’s through! I’m hoping that Asuka is going through, and my wish is granted. Nigel basically says that there’s a lot of contemporary dancers and they like having a variety which is why they’re keeping  her, oh and her performance skills. Paris, out of all the contemporary dancers they have just wasn’t good enough. ::Tear::

The boys should be easier. Again it’s unanimous, but they didn’t think any of them danced well. Vitolio is through even though they’re still missing his personality. Tony has the personality but tonight and last night were so awful, especially seeing as they were both in his field, and his partner is already gone, so they shouldn’t have to think too hard. But ouch! They said exactly what I was thinking to him in front of America. “You did locking and not very well. A lot of moving around but not great locking!” – Nigel. Double Ouch! So they’re keeping Jonathan, who did a little better last night and has some cool flipping skills.

I’m okay with these choices. In fact, I completely agree. The judges got it right, and I don’t even want to know if America would have. That’s why this show is so much better than American Idol when it comes to judging the contestants and truly picking the best winner. Wow, and we’re down to 18. All I can think is welcome back my dear show friend. You’re even better than I remember.

Season 5, Episodes 6&7: Top 20 (originally aired June 10&11, 2009)

For another take on this episode, check out Wow! That Was Cool! by Robin Reed.

For more on So You Think You Can Dance, click here.

Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c on Fox

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro