So You Think You Can Dance Review: Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow, Except There Is

My favorite dance show is finally underway. Dancing with the Stars what? This is So You Think You Can Dance.

Megan Mullally joined Nigel and Mary on the judges’ panel, which was extremely strange at first, but the lovely Cat Deeley got straight to the bottom of my confusion. Apparently, Megan has a ballet and Broadway past. Alright, Megan, if you say so, then I accept you into the fold. Plus, inside five minutes, I could already tell she’d be a better contributor than Robin Antin, even if all her criticism was glowing. Cat mentioned, at the start of the performance show, that Mitchell Kelly (again, who?) had injured himself in rehearsals and had been advised by doctors to rest. This automatically placed him in the bottom three for the week. So without further ado, let’s get to season eight’s Top 20.

10. ASHLEY Rich and CHRIS Koehl | Hip-hop | Christopher Scott | “Forget You” by Cee Lo Green

We learned some eight-second facts about all the contestants. Ashley, 22, loves eating waffles and peanut butter toast with barbeque chips and orange soda. She also likes the color magenta and wearing hot pink UGGs. (The latter already counts against her.) Chris, 21, is from a family of seven. He grew up in Texas where he developed a love for ice cream, bike riding and movies. The routine was certainly fun, but there wasn’t a lot of substance to latch on to, which can hurt a pair. They were out of sync at time which took me away from the piece, but I was surprised to see how well they both picked up a difficult popping and locking section. Their energy was high, and kids love them some Cee Lo; those two, simple things could keep them out of the bottom.

9. MIRANDA Maleski and ROBERT Taylor Jr. | Jive | Jason Gilkison | “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars

Miranda, 19, from Pittsburgh, loves her family, is afraid of the dark, and loves spicy…something? Robert “Wooo Man” Taylor is from Brooklyn and loves cooking fried chicken. He’s an avid gamer, wrestling fan and dog/cat lover. They had one of the hardest hat pulls with a ballroom number, but I had a feeling that just their enthusiasm could get them through to the next round. Miranda had a pretty nice little kick and retraction, while Robert, a born ham, showed great character. Nigel commended his big personality but said he could get annoying quick. (I’m already halfway there.) He also didn’t display a lick of technique even if his showmanship masked it. Mary felt he stole the number, but I think that’s just because she found her kindred “Woohoo” spirit.

8. RYAN Ramirez and RICKY Jaime | Lyrical Hip-hop | Christopher Scott | “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Lighthouse Family

Ryan, 19, is a funky, white girl Sagittarius with a love for Law & Order: SVU and an even deeper love of Mexican food. Ricky, 19, from Florida, was a cheerleader who loves cheer music. I wasn’t as excited by their performances as the judges were; their effort could be seen, but I wanted them to appear more grounded throughout the number and hit those staccato movements a little harder. Still, without being able to show off their fantastic leaps and extensions, they came off as confident and connected. The moves didn’t fit Ricky as well, but he conveyed more believable emotions than Ryan, whose constant smile perplexed the judges in the sad number.

7. JORDAN Casanova and TADD Gadduang | African Jazz | Sean Cheesman | “Riding the Waves” by Afro Celt Sound System

It was Jordan’s birthday this week, and she turned 19. Happy belated birthday! She wants to be a Pussycat Doll real bad, can howl like her dog, likes food and she likes the color blue. Tadd, 25, played a dancing taco in a movie, almost died dancing Bollywood and thought he was Caucasian growing up. He also can’t ride a bike. Jordan comes off, to me, as ditzy. Please never tell anyone that you thought Afro-jazz was dancing in jazztards while wearing an afro again, while Tadd was pretty funny. Both did a beautiful job this week. Tadd surprised me the most, as he was out of his element, but both were strong. Nigel went so far as to call them “primal.” Their downfall was that there was no connection or spark between them.

6. CLARICE Ordaz and JESS LeProtto | Broadway | Tyce Diorio | “Me and My Baby” by Liza Minnelli

Clarice, 19, is shy, but not shy once you get to know her, and her eyes change colors. Her partner Jess, 18, from Jersey, can sing and dance, loves him some Broadway and can make weird, crazy noises. Cat dubbed them “pocket-sized perfection.” I wouldn’t have gone so far, but Jess certainly stood up to that nickname, proving he’s more than just a technical dynamo and has the complete Broadway package character and performance as well. Clarice, is talented, but appeared flat next to Jess, and the fact that Tyce gave them razzle, dazzle steps more than a story didn’t help.

5. IVETA Lukosuite and NICK Young | Quickstep | Jason Gilkison | “The Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet

Iveta, 30, from Lithuania is “hot for dance!” She also wishes it wasn’t illegal to own a pet monkey. Nick is very cheeky. Iveta may have been a drill sergeant during rehearsal, but she was the perfect partner. I don’t know if he would have had the same confidence if he’d been paired with a lady out of her own range as well. I’ve never seem a tapper appear so versatile from the jump, and it gave me hope for the cursed contestant style who conquered the dreaded quickstep. Iveta, as always, proved why she’s the World 10 Dance Champion, and if you didn’t pick that up from her dancing, the judges were there to remind us.

4. SASHA Mallory and ALEXANDER Fost | Contemporary | Travis Wall | “Stupid” (Mark Bell Mix) by Sarah McLachlan

Sasha, 23, forgets her age sometimes, and she likes purple. Alexander, 20, is from Alhambra, CA, and speaks Spanish…when he can remember how. They lucked out with a number that they should kill, but there’s also a higher bar for the partners. It wasn’t my favorite Travis routine, but that doesn’t say much when I consider one of his lesser numbers to still be utterly fantastic. The piece was extremely emotional and tough. The two didn’t disappoint, connecting fully to their characters. Sasha commanded attention with her power, though I agreed with the judges that Alexander didn’t seem to emote as well.

3. MISSY Morelli and WADI Jones | Jazz | Sean Cheesman | “Judas” (R3had Remix) by Lady Gaga

Missy is a yoga-holic who loves lipstick. She has a special relationship with her fridge, enjoys talking in a Jamaican accent and wants to marry an Australian. Wadi, who has the coolest dance slo-mo spot ever, is 24 and Jamaican. Perfect match! He’s got a crush on all things Japanese and hopes to inspire. Missy really shined here. Her technique clearly grabbed my attention more so than Wadi’s tricks. Sean gave him a break there, with so many b-boy inspired moves, but also gave him many reasons to remind me why we loved him. He was also a fantastic partner.

2. CAITLYNN Lawson and MITCHELL | Jazz | Sonya Tayeh | “In For The Kill” (Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Remix) by La Roux

Caitlynn, 18, is a senior in high school and a small town girl, who loves the color green, Disney movies and has already finished two years of college coursework. Mitchell, 20, loves the color orange and eating chocolate; he’s allergic to onions and can’t live without his childhood movies. He was so happy in his package, and his personality just jumped off the screen; I couldn’t help but feel sad for the boy whose elbow injury will probably take him out of the completion in week one. Last season’s Robert stepped in for him, and easily elevated the performance. Sonya doesn’t typically do morose numbers, but this was one of my favorite pieces of hers. Sweet, little Caitlynn swiftly became one of my favorite female dancers, showing off sexy and strength in one blow. There was nothing saccharine about her any longer.

1. MELANIE Moore and MARKO Germar | Contemporary | Travis Wall | “Turn To Stone” by Ingrid Michaelson

Melanie is a 19-year-old Southern Belle who likes cookies, collects nail polish and really wants to be on Ellen. She also used to wear a helmet because she was narcoleptic. Marko, 22, from Guam, can eat a lot of hamburgers and ketchup. This was the first pairing that really excited me because they were sure to be on the same level, making it easier to trust each other from the get go. It’s almost not fair, especially since they get Travis’s emotional dance madness. They have to be the first dancers to ever be completely painted white from head to toe which completed the whole statue illusion. They were so beautiful that they got a standing ovation. On top of that, Travis and the dancers made Mary cry.

So after a fabulous night, which really kicked off what looks to become a fabulous season, it came down to the results show. Nigel had said, about a million times, how great the girls are this season. They’re “beast!” I felt fairly confident that it wouldn’t be a woman going home. After watching Sonya Tayeh’s slinky jazz group number, I would have put money on it. Those girls stole the number, and while I commend the boys for still putting up a great effort, I couldn’t distinguish them from one another. At least, I could distinguish and remember that Sasha, Melanie and Missy really drew my focus. SYTYCD also treated us to a performance by Keri Hilson, the return of Gopak, the Ukrainian dance style that brought Nigel to fits of laughter or horror when Phillip Chbeeb and Jeanine Mason attempted it in Season Five, and the debut of Lady Gaga’s new video for “Edge of Glory.” They also announced she’d be a guest judge in the future.

Cat came out to make the big announcement; Clarice and Jess, Jordan and Tadd, and Miranda and Robert rounded out the bottom three teams with Mitchell. The injured dancer kicked off the “dance for your life” solos, bringing a nice ease and sense of joy. Jordan pulled out her old “sexy” tricks, lots of kicks and splits, but if there’s nothing more to her, than I’d be happy to let her go now. Tadd can kick butt in an air flair competition. Clarice showed off her fun side but also took time to prove her technical prowess. Jess was definitely the guy I wish could have gotten an immediate pass with four guys in the bottom. His solo was cool and exciting. I swear he makes me believe he’s six feet tall with every jump. Miranda was the only girl to pull of some sort of emotion in her quick solo, immediately making her more worthy in my mind. Sex will always sell but give me a good cry any day. Robert really disappointed, in my eyes. Every solo of his that has aired on this show was better than this one. He walked around a lot and didn’t seem to be as controlled in his movements.

Color me shocked when Nigel said that the judges wanted Mitchell and Robert to dance again. Robert was pretty awful, though his routine the second time around was performed way better. The same can be said for Mitchell. But the judges finally had to make a decision. Yes, Nigel all the ladies were fantastic. Wait, all the boys were also fantastic as well. Wait, no one’s going home?! Guess the judges were having an indecisive week.

Though this has never happened so early in the season, with all dancers, willing and able to compete by the results show, I can’t wait to see this superbly talented Top 20 give it another go. Maybe some of the genres will even be a little more mixed up this time, giving all the dancers a fairer shot. Still, two couples will be going home next week, so the pressure is on!

For more on this week’s episodes, check out I’m Not the Only One Who Hates Decisions by Trisha Leigh.

Read more on So You Think You Can Dance here.

Season 8, Episodes 6 and 7: Top 20 Perform and 2 of 20 Voted Off (originally aired June 15 and 16, 2011)

Photos courtesy of Fox.