So You Think You Can Dance- The Top 18

Last week we lost ballroom dancer Stanislav and his partner Erin, in a decision that left the taint of both "America you suck!" and "This is so rigged" with a lot of viewers. The way I see it, unless I'm robbed of seeing one of the more entertaining dancers, I'll be fine with whatever. Stan and Erin were just kinda meh so no big loss.

We have nine performances but were still going to recap some awful contestants from the AUDITIONS! Get over it y'all! Tonight's judges are Shane Sparks, Mia Michaels, and Nigel.

We also have a special treat as Hawk is back and he's brought the Sick Step Crew with him. Of course Hawk can't perform since he doesn't have a work permit and because he's a lying, lying, lying, liar! The performance is to that Napoleon Dynamite song and it's pretty good, but not as headspinny and flippy as I thought it would be. Cat Deeley leads us to the break by promising Krump. WTF?? Did I just hear that right???

We come back and see Travis and Martha draw their dance style and it is indeed Krumping...they seem really happy about it..me, I think I'm gonna be watching a trainwreck. Holy crap! They brought in Lil' C from Rize (which y'all shoulda rented by now), to choreograph their routine. I rarely say this about TV shows, but I'm really impressed. They can't really get more authentic than having the guy who pretty much invented the dance style on here to put the dancers through the paces. Martha and Travis did some kick ass Fosse, but they seem kinda overwhelmed at first. It's gonna be toughest for Martha, because the women krumpers were frenetic and had to move faster than the men to pull this style off.

The routine seems really toned down...I don;t know if anyone who hasn;t seen Rize or real krumping would be able to differentiate between that and regular hip-hop. I'll have to admit Travis, for what he's given kicks ass. Martha seems a step behind on the sychronized steps and doesn't really look committed to it. It was fun, but it wasn't all dat. Just the fact that this happened is still pretty cool.

Shane is especially impressed with Travis, Shane calls Martha out for not bringin it. Mia calls it raw and drrrrty yo. Nigel is down with the Rize too, and pretty much says it didn't meet his expectations...then he gets down with some krump of his own!
Next up, we have two of last weeks bottom three survivors, Jaymz and Jessica are gonna be doing the foxtrot. This means it's Ballroom Mary's turn to choreograph...and wait her assistant looks like Artem from last year. Yes I think it is Artem because I can hear a faint "squee" from eastern wind. Is he Ballroom Mary's personal slave now? Anyway we see Mary try to convince them that it won't be boring, but it really won't matter since both Jaymz and Jessica are devoid of any chemistry and charm. Jaymz pretty much stands around looking pretty, while Jessica, is cute, but she has this tendency to make the bitchface a lot.
Okay, this is one of those times where I can't possibly add anything constructive. What makes this a foxtrot? Seriously, at least Dancing With the Stars give some instructional tips for the viewers at home. Anyway, it's not terrible...and it looks like they've both made an effort to be more expressive in their faces. Jessica's thingies are pointy, like she might be wearing a bra from the 30's or something. I will say I was drawn to watch the whole thing, so at least it kept my interest.

The judges shower them with praise and Nigel addresses the concern that they weren't exciting enough to stay out of the bottom again.

More bottom three survivors up next. Allison and Ivan are gonna do hip-hop as choreographed by Cicely and Olisa who have worked with G-Unit and Missy Elliot. Okay this should be right up Ivan's alley since he's a hip hop dancer. They focus on Allison quite a bit and she is the complete opposite of Jessica and for this week won me over as one of my favorites. Cicely and Olisa are impressed with her too. Seriously I think the fact that they are fun and cute will go a long way for them and their advancement in the show.
Their performance draaaaags. I though they did a good job, but their routine is interchangeable with the background dancing for a zillion hip-hop videos over the last 5 years or so. There's nothing outstanding or memorable about the moves. It's just smooth and that's not what this audience is accustomed to. They want their "Oh Shit !" moments in their hip-hop routines.

Shane loves Ivan and thought they were great. Mia found it lacking in fireworks and needed more than just the steps. She gets the "boooo"! Nigel is kind to both of them and thought it was good.

Dmitry and Joy, this week, are going to perform Samba with Mark Weiss. It's a traveling Latin dance he says. Thanks! Joy's accent is thick and I've been in Cali too long to deal...shut it already! This is Dmitry's strength so it's on Joy this week. In rehearsal it doesn't look good.

Joy dances like she's in a pageant with "Yeah!" smiles out of of every turn. She's floundering like a thing that lives in the water that's not in the water or something like that...I think it's a saying about a crab. Dmitry is a ballroom dancer left so he carries it and might get the votes from the ladies too...somewhere in the NE wind I thought I heard another "squee".

Shane was bugged by her smile too. Mia lays the bitchslap of the night with "It's a good thing you're beautiful because that was dreadful". She also says she's not ready for this competition. She loves Dmitry though. Nigel brings up Joy's beauty again which make "You look good" the official lead in on reality shows for "You sucked ass". In what other area of life is that acceptable? "It's a good thing your pretty, because that financial analysis you submitted was terrible" Who does that? Anyway Nigel says Dmitry wasn't carrying her as much as he could have. See ya in the bottom three y'all.

Here we go with the hawtness...it's Natalie and Musa. They are fully aware of their "hot" status this week and every moment in rehearsals they show them playing to the camera. They are doing contemporary, which is Natalie's specialty. Tavares Wilson is the choreographer and is concerned that Musa's gonna fuck it up this week. He's dropping her and throwing her all over the floor. Nat knows she's gotta carry the team at points.
Okay the performance starts and really, yo, this ain't about dancing no mo. Their routine could pass for the boring parts of a 2 AM Skinemax movie...ya know the part where people wear clothes. My eyes are glued...not to anything in particular, but just glued. I don't particularly enjoy contemporary, but this routine seemed like it lasted on 15 seconds, it went by so quick. By the way, they are SO doing it.

Shane is impressed by Natalie's coverage during Musa's weaker parts. Mia says their chemistry is amazing and thinks Musa's raw dancing added to the quality of the performance. Nigel says it was like a real man and woman on the stage dancing and enjoying it. It other words he, like a million other viewers, thought they were going to start doing it on stage.

Heidi and Ryan are going to go next using the same choreographer as Natalie and Musa. They will be doing "Pop" which according to the show means the type of dancing you would see in Pop videos. Okay...whatever. Ryan spends a lot of the rehearsal clip apologizing to Heidi for being disappointed that she wasn't Natalie. Good move, since voters remember that stuff and Heidi is the bomb, yo!

Oh no...Heidi looks like a bomb that went off by an Orange Julius...in the not-as-new-as-the-other Mall...in 1986. Seriously, what the fuck is she wearing? Pink wrestling boots? Acid Wash Mini? Did big hair make a comeback? Have I missed something here? Anyway the routine tells a story, so It's like watching a music video, back when videos used to always tell stories. Apparently Ryan and Heidi meet, do it, she's like "k", he keeps coming around, they do it some more, he starts to get really clingy, they do it some more, finally she gets bugged and says "naw" and gives him the almighty hand of rejection. At least that's how I think it goes. I usually suck at interpreting dance...that and those Dockers commercials.

Shane liked the storytelling and calls them the couple to beat. Mia gives Heidi some constructive criticism and tells her to stay grounded. Nigel didn't think they were believable in their roles of Heidi being strong and Ryan wanting her. Pretty shaky there.

The "I can't believe they are still there" couple is next. Ben and Ashley will be doing American Jive with Ballroom Mary. They both know they are in trouble and that the Magic Hat of Dance Styles has screwed them once again. Mary lets go with the "Triple time" so much it reminds me of Lisa Simpson's tap teacher and the "Tappa tappa tappa". Oh yeah, Ben also racked himself trying to leapfrog Ashley. He replied "Now I know why we're dancing to Great Balls of Fire" heh. I really like these two Ashley is lively and Ben is sarcastic and they both give a cumulative "Whatever" to this competition and I really dig that.

Okay, this is awful, compared to the Jive routines last year this is terrible. They try their hardest and they are into it, but it's really bad. They also start to lose steam near the end.

Shane says it was like five year olds dancing in a talent show. Mia complements their efforts outside both their comfort zones. Nigel thought they improved so much since last week. That might have been enough for them to avoid the sympathy vote this week. So therefore I'm voting for them eight times. Just because.

Jason and Aleksandra are next with "Old-School Hip-Hop". Cicely and Olesa are in charge again. Immediately Aleks is targeted as the the weak spot for this routine. Really the choreographers aren't that nice about it either. It's to the point where Jason is going to have to rein in his performance so it won't totally bury his partner. Too bad, because he really wrecked shit in rehearsals.

Okay, I loved this era, I love this music and if I could dance this is the way I would represent. I love the east-coast bounce of Old School and this has been my favorite routine this season. Jason is probably neck and neck with Travis for best all around dancer. It sucks that Aleks holds him back this week. She is about a second behind and is the least funky person in this competition.

Shane loved it, but says Aleks shook it like a white girl. It really is the best way to put it. Mia thought she nailed it. Nigel says about Aleks , that if this were about flavor it she would be tofu. So basically yeah she shook it like a white girl.

Benji and Donyelle are in the pimp spot this week and they'll be doing the cha-cha. They are just really engaging, after the show, those two could star in a TV show where they solve crimes and beat up thugs with their dancing skills and I would watch every single minute.


They tear the house down. Benji gets to show off his strength and Donyelle more than keeps up. They have such a great chemistry between them, but it's not the slightest bit about sexual tension. Anyway, I loved it.

The judges loved it. Shane gives a Standing O. Nigel believes they are the couple to beat. He also decides in front of millions of people that this is the time to discuss Donyelle's ability to overcome her weight problem and be confident. The sentiment is well intended but it's the type of compliment that might get a "Thanks...motherfucker!" in return.

BBL with the results recap.

Tags: So You Think You Can Dance, TV, Reality TV