So You Think You Can Dance Recap: The Top 10 Perform

Hey all I can't believe we are only a few weeks away from crowning America's Favorite Dancer. Tonight the dancers are given new partners and for the first time will be eliminated solely based on audience votes. That means Ade, Evan, and Brandon should be safe for the guys and Melissa and Janette safe for the girls. Anyone else going home would not surprise me, though I think Jason and Randi have the most to worry about. Jason has been subpar for weeks, and Randi may have been relying on Evan's popularity to get to the top 10.

Speaking of Evan, I wonder what will happen if he gets paired with Melissa? She's at least six inches taller than him. His height may also hurt him in the long run, but it seems his popularity is so great he can overcome anything.

Loving Cat's green dress tonight. It looks stunning on her and reminds us to save the planet at the same time!

Ade's solo has lots of cool spins. Brandon's is just a lot of spastic movements- has he been watching Kupono too much? Jason's was very cool as well. And hey Kupono makes a phone with his fingers at the start of his! Great idea- he needs all the votes he can get!!!

Tonight's guest judge is Debbie Allen. I didn't see much of her last year since she couldn't judge with Will on the show but she seems to know a lot about dancing and is well respected by contestants.

Nigel says he is somewhat pleased to lose control over the votes because the show is about "America's Favorite Dancer". Mary says any type of change for the dancers will be hard, especially having to deal with height disparities and trust of new partners. Debbie admits she threw her ice cream at the TV a few times this season after judges' comments but says her top 3 girls and top 3 guys are still in it. I'm guessing those are Brandon, Evan, Ade, Melissa, Kayla, and Janette, though I could be wrong. She adds that whoever leads a lasting impression on the audience should win.

Nigel reminds us we are now voting for individual dancers, not partners. Then the bottom guy and bottom girl will be eliminated tomorrow night.

Tonight each contestant will have two dances- a solo plus a paired dance with a new partner.

But before we see who the new partners are (of course the producers want to drag it out as long as possible), we get group numbers. First the top five girls do a Bollywood routine by Nakul Dev Mahajan. Hopefully it's better than Jason and Caitlin's Bollywood routine earlier this season. The dance incorporates folk elements from India and includes a cool looking prop that I missed the name of. Kayla points out that attention to details is key. Jeanine adds that it's a group effort so nobody can go in trying to shine individually. Nakul gives them the nickname "Bollywood Bombshells", and it seems to stick. Kayla is excited because the dance is really girly.

The song is "Dholna" from the Pyar Ke Geet soundtrack, and right off the bat I love the costumes. The start out slow and then immediately move into the fast part of the dance, with Melissa really seeming to hit the hardest. They then turn around and dance with mustached masks on the backs of their heads. The only bad thing is now I can't tell who is who. They eventually turn back around and do more insanely fast dancing, at which Kayla (who is in the front) really shines. But there really were no weak links in this dance. Everyone was great, and they all seemed in sync with each other. A fun way to start the night

Nigel says Nakul was cool and then thinks these girls are some of the most beautiful ever on the show. He then says there really was no one that stood out since everyone danced well with great personality. While I did single out Melissa and Kayla, that's mainly because they were in the front of the dance at the time- but like I said all five were terrific. He also loves the costumes. Mary calls it "Bollywow" and loves how fresh Nakur made Bollywood for the crowd. She could see anyone of them in the final. I think it will come down to Melissa and Janette in the finals, but that's more based on popularity than talent. Debbie agrees this is a close race and loves how much they articulated the Indian culture in the dance. She then adds this is the best top 5 ladies ever, which I can't argue since I didn't watch the first three seasons.

Now we finally get the first couples routine of the night. So is there a guys' routine also later in the show? I'm guessing so or that really wouldn't be fair to the ladies, having them learn two routines while the guys only learn one. Anyway tonight's first couple is...

Kayla and Evan- It will be interesting to see how the votes go with these two since Evan is so popular while Kayla is not. I know the votes are individual but you figure one partner's votes could influence another's.

Kayla loves having a unique partner. Evan is worried since Kayla is apparently the tallest girl though to me she really doesn't look that tall at all. I thought Melissa was taller but I guess not. This could especially be a problem in ballroom dance, according to Evan, since girls dance in heels. And of course they get ballroom- a Viennese Waltz with Tony and Melanie.

Okay in rehearsals (with Kayla wearing heels) the height difference is much more noticeable. Already these two got a bad break being paired together and then getting a somewhat boring dance. Evan is trying to dance tall, but Kayla is looking for smaller heels. At one point the two switch shoes! The heights are more even now (Evan is in fact taller) but Evan can barely walk in the heels. He has gained a newfound respect for girls who dance in those all time. I'm a girl and I don't even think I could do that- I can barely walk in heels. Kayla even jokes she will bend her knees a lot during the dance so Evan looks taller. This should be interesting.

The song is "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal. Hey I've actually heard of this song! Well they must have given Kayla smaller shoes since the height difference was not that noticeable. Evan looks dashing in his vest and combed back hair, and he's actually dancing better than he has in a while. He is being outshined by Kayla with her beautiful twirls and lift poses, but overall Evan held his own in a tough genre. He did looks a bit choppy at times though. Aw he gives her a rose at the end (albeit a squished one).

Nigel agrees with me that they look the same height, and it turns out Kayla is dancing with flats and Evan with slight heels. Nigel though thought it looked more like a fast waltz than a Viennese Waltz, but that's more choreography than it is the dancers, isn't it? Yet he thinks the lifts were beautiful, Evan was a strong partner, and Kayla had great lines. Mary picks Evan apart for his turns and lack of power and says he didn't glide enough on the floor, which is probably the choppiness that I saw. Still I didn't think it was as bad as she said. She does compliment him on the lifts. She adds Kayla had better movement and quality along with great lines, and that she grows every week. I still don't get the smugness that others see in Kayla, or why people think the judges are pimping her too much when they have praised others just as much. Debbie thinks Evan handled his "big woman" well and that she greatly enjoyed it. She loved Kayla aka "White Lightening" from the first time she saw her, yet she feared audiences wouldn't accept Evan aka "Gene Kelly" (who apparently is hearing this nickname for the first time and is so touched he is crying). But clearly, (as she admits) she was wrong about him.

Overall it was a solid way to start the evening, though perhaps unmemorable with them being the first act of the night.

The partner dances and solos are going to alternate throughout the night. First up is Brandon, whose solo we are seeing for the first time. The song is "In Your Eyes" by Jeffrey Gaines. As usual he is great. His arm and leg movements are super fast, and you can really feel the passion, which apparently is something the judges have critiqued him on in the past. Apparently though the judges don't comment on the solos, as Cat segues right into Brandon's phone number.

The next new couple is Janette and Ade. Two of the favorites get paired together- good for them, bad for everyone else.

Ade is happy to have a little firecracker for a partner, though again these two have height issues. Ade is the tallest guy, and Janette the shortest girl, though this difference is more noticeable than Evan and Kayla's. Janette though loves Ade's fun personality. They are doing at TabNap hip hop number, which is good since the height difference won't be as noticeable. In the dance Janette thinks she has no funk, so Ade will hypnotize her so she has more funk. Janette actually struggles with the funk in rehearsal, which surprises me since I think she is the best female dancer. Tabita says she must step it up or they will "funk up" the routine. Ha! She seems to do better towards the end of the clip though.

The song is "Love Sex Magic" by Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake, a song I have heard of but never actually heard. Ade starts out with a great solo and then uses his patented hair pick to hypnotize Janette. She seems a bit robotic and stiff in her moves, though that may be part of the routine. In the rest of the dance she does a pretty good job but Ade is so amazing that I couldn't really keep my eyes off of him. It was still very enjoyable.

Nigel says they were both great and loves how TabNap used the height difference to their advantage by having Janette go between Ade's legs. Yet he does this all with two pencils in his head (his version of Ade's pick), which makes it hard to take him seriously. He then promises to use the pick to take Mary out of her clothes later.... Mary says the dance was funky and pure entertainment, which it was. She thought they were well synchronized as well. Debbie says they were mesmerizing together. I didn't like it quite as much as the judges did but it certainly was very good. BTW the height difference is much more noticeable when the two stand next to each other- Janette's head is up to Ade's shoulder!

I went back and watched this dance again and found it much more enjoyable the second time around, particularly the second half when Janette is getting her funk on and not being as robotic.

Next up to do her solo is Randi, another one we haven't seen yet. Her song is "Dream " by Priscilla Ahn. Technically it is very good but I don't quite get the emotion out of it that I got out of Brandon's solo. Though her spins are excellent, I found it a bit boring.

After the break we see Kupono's solo, which hopefully is like the solo he did in the beginning of the show and not like the ones he's done on results shows so far. The song is "Marina Gasolina" by Bonde Do Role. Well it was better than ones he's done in the past but still didn't blow me away. He basically acted like an animal and did some crouched dancing. It did seem to go by faster than Randi's dance, which I think means for me it was more entertaining, though still nowhere near as good as Brandon's.

The next new partners are Jeanine and Jason. The two are excited to work together since they are such good friends but both could be in trouble with their weak fanbases. They do both think they have similar dance styles, and Jeanine looks forward to seeing Jason's naked chest all day!
Ironic that the two who lost partners last week are paired together, seeing as they would have been partnered together anyway if the duos were not split up.

They are doing a contemporary dance choreographed by former contestant Travis Wall, who is choreographing for the first time despite being a huge fan favorite based on the cheers. Lucky for them two of the weaker dancers get their own style this week. The story is two best friends hooking up for the first time. Travis though is putting in all these flips and lifts that the two of them haven't done before, leading to lots of spills in practice. The chemistry is key for the dance to work, especially since Jason's poor chemistry with Caitlin doomed her last week.

The song is "If It Kills Me" by Jason Mraz. Great singer, though I don't know this particular song. The routine starts out with Jason giving Jeanine a locket and her stretching her leg up straight in the air like it's nothing. The routine has lots of great lifts and Jason does some high jumps but it's kind of boring for me, though danced very well. At the end Jason puts the locket on Jeanine and they make out on the floor! They definitely have more chemistry than Jason and Caitlin did.

The audience (including Travis) is on their feet, along with the judges. Uh oh- that's bad news for Kupono and Randi, and maybe even Evan and Kayla. Nigel says the choreography was great and only made better by the two dancers. He correctly points out that Jeanine finally has a partner who can keep up with her technically and that Jason was great as well. He adds that they have both become stars tonight. Mary is at a loss for words, so Nigel wants them to do the same routine every week so she can shut up! When she speaks she says that they are both stars and breaks down in tears describing how great it is for Travis to come back. She adds Jason has great strength and power, brought out by Travis, and that Jeanine has grown every week as well. And they even get a spot on the hot tamale train, yet she does a silent scream instead (finally, a silent scream!!). Debbie says she's known Travis since he was young and tonight demonstrates how the show is connecting dancers around the world. She thinks this was a magical pairing, and she can't wait to see it on the tour. Watching this dance again, I do like it better the second time around, though I wasn't as blown away as the judges were. Still it was certainly good enough to keep them here another week, which like I said before is bad news for the dancers on the bubble this week.

Next to do her solo is Melissa, set to "Gabriel" by Lamb. The rock music doesn't seem to fit the ballet dancing, but she does dance it well, especially en pointe. Solid, but not spectacular..

Cat then introduces Evan's solo, the first time the Broadway dancer had done one this season. The song is "Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart" by Rufus Wainwright. Why are the Broadway songs on this show never ones I have heard of? His solo is actually one of the most entertaining of the night, complete with tap dancing, splits, and a flip at the end. Plus the facial expressions were adorable!

Another solo! Well might as well do a bunch now since there are only two partner dances left. Kayla's song is "Rock Your Soul" by Elisa. Her solo seems much less hectic than her previous ones, and she shows great lines and flips, though like Randi's routine it was a bit dull.

Only two couples left to be revealed. Hopefully Kupono is paired with Melissa or he could be in real trouble since Randi is also on the chopping block. The next new couple is:

Randi and Kupono: So it kind of worked out that the favorites got paired up and the non-favorites didn't. Evan and Randi disappointed a bit earlier, but after Jason and Jeanine's great routine (and subpar solos from both of them) these two are going to have to hit it out of the park to stick around.

Kupono loves Randi's cuteness, and Randi loves Kupono's presence but fears they won't be able to get chemistry in such a short amount of time.

They are doing a paso doble with Tony and Melanie. Randi is terrified- all she knows is that she is the cape and Kupono is the matador, and Kupono is scared as well. I have a bad feeling about this. They struggle in rehearsals and go into panic mode. Tony thinks they have to work on the passion of the dance.

The song is "Dies Irae" by Karl Jenkins. When I hear "Dies Irae" all I think is the backing vocals in the beginning of "La Vie Boheme" in "Rent". They actually do better than I thought they would considering the pre-performance clip, though that's not saying much since I thought it would be a train wreck. The dancing itself is good but I've seen paso dobles hit much harder than this. They have the intensity in their faces but not so much in their bodies. It's kind of like a paso-light. And even the facial intensity goes away after a while. And Kupono does show his lack of strength when he really struggles to lift Randi off the ground. Overall it was still a decent routine technically but it didn't blow me away. The cheers aren't loud from the crowd, which really isn't good.

Nigel says the choreography was good but the dancing didn't match. He doesn't think Kupono was strong enough for the routine, and also calls it light like I did. He also thinks they had a lack of chemistry and passion and that the routine felt inauthentic. Ouch I didn't think it was that bad but it certainly wasn't great either. Mary says they didn't rise to the challenge of new partnerships and that it was not strong or authentic. She thinks Randi was there more than Kupono was but mediocre is not good enough. She thinks the song was more intense than the dance. Debbie thinks there were moments of awkwardness but thinks they needed more time to grow as partners. I think they should have gotten a bit more praise for their technique but I agree the emotion was not there, especially when watching the routine back a few times. These two are locks for the bottom three and are most likely going home, unless by some miracle Evan's fans suddenly turn on him.

The next solo is Ade. He is dancing to "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers. Finally a pop song! And extra bonus points for going shirtless! He has a great flip along with nice lines, though the dancing doesn't quite match the music in my opinion. Still it was a solid routine, though not as good as his solo from last week. Cat mentions that Ade did something during his solo, though I'm not sure what it is.

After the break we see Jeanine's solo, set to "Violento (Up Mix)" by Bailongo! Wasn't another dance on this show set to the same number? The dance is cute and sexy but doesn't quite match the intensity of the music. Still pretty good though.

Our final male solo is Jason, dancing to "Train Fare Home" by Muddy Waters. His solo isn't as intense as I would like it but with his strong partner dance he should be safe.

Now it's time for our last couple, Melissa and Brandon. So two of the strongest dancers are paired together. The dancers feel the same way that I do, though Melissa worries about her height difference with Brandon. Even with that these two should shine together.

Their first dance is a Tyce Broadway routine. OMG they are dancing to "Hair". I'm excited now- a show I've actually heard of!! Too bad everyone one the other blogs I read hates Tyce's numbers- maybe these two strong dancers will change their minds. For those who don't know the show takes place in the 1960s and is all about hippie culture. They had some interesting poses, and Melissa's chin hit Brandon's behind right away, so they bonded quickly.

The song is "Aquarius". Yay one of the songs I know too! I'm loving Melissa's outfit- she looks like she could be in the show. The routine is kind of boring at the start, though it does get much more enjoyable once the lyrics start. The two are dancing it very well, and really embodying the spirit of the era. I especially enjoy the crazy flips and poses they do throughout the dance almost more than the dancing itself. Awesome smoke effect in the end, though you can't really see Melissa behind the fog. Overall it wasn't their best but still a good enough job to keep them in for another week.

Nigel talks about how big a deal it was at the time for black and white dancers to be dancing together like they were in the show. But, he notes, they had more hair than Brandon does. He loves how Melissa's ballet and Brandon's gymnastics were worked into the routine. Mary says it was unbelievable and groovy and they were stars of the show. Debbie says they are both powerful and technical and worked well together despite their differences.

The last solo of the evening is Janette's, who dances to "This is Miami" by Sander Kleinenberg. She is hot and sexy, especially with those hips. Man is she shaking those things! It's hard to do a salsa dance solo, but this was actually my favorite female solo of the night.

All that's left is the top 5 guys who are doing an African dance by Jeffrey Page. I've never seen African dance on this show so this should be interesting. Jeffrey wants the dance to be about men showing off to women in the crowd. Kupono will likely struggle with the masculinity, and pale-white Evan is also struggling. The dance is quick and hard, according to Brandon. The dance is all rhythm, not counting, which is tripping up the dancers. Jeffrey tells them to rely on pure movement and not on what they learned in class. But it has to be rhythmic or it will be bad.

The song is "Balant Funk" by Ayanda Clarke and Shawn Kelly. And thank you to Jeffrey for having them ALL dance shirtless! Evan has the worst body of the bunch so he even points to his sticking-out belly during the routine. The dance is crazy fast with lots of flips and tricks. It's so fast I can't even keep track of who's doing what, though at first glance it seems they all were doing well. Evan seems to struggle the most but he still does an admirable job. The dance was a bit repetitive at the end, so I liked the girls' routine better, though that's more a matter of taste.

Jeffrey gives them a standing ovation from the crowd. Nigel loves African dance and says that routine was one of the toughest ever on the show. He says nobody stood out as a sore thumb, just like with the girls, and I agree. Mary loves the costume and energy and thinks Evan held his own in a tough genre. She also mentions his pointing to his chubby stomach. She also thinks it was entertaining. Debbie says this dance is the origin of other styles on the show and is impressed with their stamina during that tough routine. Nigel calls it much better than Russian folk! I feel bad for whoever choreographed that routine last week.

Tomorrow night two dancers go home and the Black Eyed Peas perform.

My favorite partner dance was Ade and Janette's, though I actually thought of them were good (yes, even Kupono and Randi's). Brandon, Janette, and Evan had my favorite solos, though none of them stuck out as being terrible. Kupono's was one of the weakest but even this was stronger than his previous ones.

As for the results show, I think Kupono and Randi are locks for the bottom three and are likely to go home, though the rest of the bottom three should be interesting. Jason and Jeanine might be there because of their lack of popularity, though they don't deserve to be. Evan does deserve it but likely will be safe after his solo and because of his overall popularity. Ade and Kayla could also be in the bottom because of smaller fanbases, but it likely won't matter as Kupono and Randi were the only dancers who got poor critques tonight. Well other than Evan but if he's survived the past two weeks he should survive tonight which was actually one of his better nights of late.

So thoughts on tonight's show? What did you think of the group numbers? Did you think the judges were a bit too harsh on Evan, Kupono, and Randi like I did? Any chance Kupono and Randi don't go home tomorrow night? Post your comments below.