So You Think You Can Dance Recap: First Two Finalists Eliminated

Hey all it's results show time on So You Think You Can Dance. From reading other blogs today it seems the consensus is Tony and Paris and Vitolio and Asuka will be in the bottom three couples, with the other duo either being Jonathan and Karla (hopefully) or Ashley and Kupono. Either way I think the two going home will be from one of the first two couples I mentioned, unless someone else' s solo is really bad...

Cat starts out reminding us how great the show was last night and how tough this first cut will be.

The group dance is to "Boom Boom Pow" from the Black Eyed Peas. At first I hated this song but ever since I heard it on AI it started to grow on me a bit. The theme is a bunch of the dancers being poor, with one holding a sign saying "Save the dancers, save the world". Ha love the Heroes parody! Others then come in as heroes in leather outfits. The guys in the leather are amazing, though I can't tell who all of them are. I think I see Brandon and Ade and Vitolio, and the others look like Jason and Jonathan, but I'm not sure. One of the blonde girls comes out with the wind blowing in her hair and heavy eye makeup so she looks really creepy. Then the "poor" dancers strip off their clothes and reveal their leather outfits underneath. At this point they are just running around the stage and it seems a bit too messy for me, though Phillip gets a great popping solo. The guys do a weird cape thing, and the girls get a group solo that is less impressive than the guys' one earlier in the number. Overall not a bad group number, but not on of my favorites either.

We meet the judges again, with Nigel looking dapper in a blue shirt.

First filler piece: Interviews about the contestants' first week working with partners. Jeanine is happy to have a great partner in Phillip (especially since he has the built-in fan base that will let them last a while, I bet). Ashley loves Kupono, and Max loves working with hot blonde Kayla.
And now we get Cat's rules to a good partnership:
1) Respect Boundaries- Paris gets mad at Tony for spanking her butt. Evan is upset that Randi is married so he can't be as flirtatious with her.
2) Communication- Brandon can't understand Janette, especially when she speaks in Spanish! Jason says "pretty far" instead of "so far" and gets flack from Caitlin.
3) Feel Comfortable- Melissa always burps in front of Ade (TMI!)
4)Shared Interests- Kupono likes the chicken sound Ashley makes, and he counters with a monkey sound. The producers play both at the same time and it sounds like a real jungle.
5) Hard Work- Phillip and Jonathan sweat a lot, according to their partners. Asuka is scared of Vitolio's sweat. Why is it that only the guys sweat on this show?

First round of results: On the floor are Phillip and Jeanette, Kayla and Max, and Evan and Randi. I don't know how these shows usually work but I guess all three of them are safe- might as well get some of the obvious ones out of the way first. If any of them are in the bottom I would guess Kayla and Max, but either way none of these nine are going home tonight. Kayla and Max are safe, as are Randi and Evan. Phillip and Jeanine must have thought they were in the bottom after that was announced, but sure enough they are safe as well, causing Jeanine to let out a piercing scream that caused Cat to drop the results card!

The next four out are Tony and Paris, Kupono and Ashley, Ade and Melissa, and Jason and Caitlin. Ade and Melissa and Jason and Caitlin should be safe. Tony and Paris should be in the bottom. Since there are three left after this group, either the last grouping will have two couples in the bottom (namely Asuka and Vitolio and Jonathan and Karla since Brandon and Janette aren't going anywhere) or this group will have two in the bottom with Kupono and Ashley joining Tony and Paris, though I hope this isn't the case. I did actually see some who agreed with me and didn't like the Bollywood routine as much as the judges did but Jason's popularity should save him and Caitlin. And indeed they are safe for another week. By the way I love how excited the contestants get when they find out they are safe. Melissa and Ade are also predictably safe. Cat now says one of the two remaining couples is safe and one is in the bottom. Please let Ashley and Kupono be safe! Yeah they are! They don't seem too excited though... That means Tony and Paris are in the bottom. Tony's lack of technique in his solo might hurt him but his entertainment factor will help him. Adam Shankman says many on twitter were defending these two last night, but he thinks that was because they are charming, not because they danced well. Ouch! I actually liked their routine last night but I think that's just because I like hip hop in general.

That leaves Brandon and Janette, Jonathan and Karla, and Asuka and Vitolio, with only one being safe from the bottom three. If Brandon and Janette are not safe I will be shocked, though I'm sure the judges would save either of them anyway. Asuka and Vitolio are first, and indeed they are in the bottom three. No surprises so far. Already Brandon and Janette are getting more cheers than the other two. Sure enough Karla and Jonathan are in the bottom in a mild surprise, though one that makes me happy since I didn't love their routine last night as much as others did. Plus Brandon is safe for another week!

This season SYTYCD has decided to feature dancers from around the world during the results shows. This week they have two dancers doing a tango from somewhere in South America or Spain, I guess. The tango isn't my favorite dance but these two definitely have the drama and intensity down. And the steps look really good as well from my untrained point of view. Really cool lift at the end!

Now it's time for solos. Paris's solo has good spins and jumps but seems to lack some passion and intensity. Tony's is fast and fun, and showed more actual dancing than his solo from Vegas week. It's obviously hard for Asuka to do a ballroom solo without a partner but her fast kicks in the jive are very impressive. Vitolio has the great jumps and lines of Paris's routines with the passion her routine lacked. He may have just saved himself with that solo.

Cat just called Sean Kingston a "teen pop sensation"- uh since when does rap= teen pop???

Two solos left: Karla wobbled a bit at one point but overall also had more intensity than Paris did. Jonathan starts out strong with a great flip and has a lot of tricks but the overall dancing is only okay.

It's going to be a tough call for the judges. I always seem to disagree with them on the solos, but I would send Paris home for sure. None of the girls' solos really impressed me but I thought hers was the worst. Vitolio's solo was my favorite of the six, so I hope he stays. It's close for me between Tony and Jonathan going home but I like Tony's style better so I hope he stays, though I think he'll go home because of a lack of technique. Plus they thought Tony was worse on performance night even though I liked him better than Jonathan Wednesday too.

The judges head off to deliberate, and Nigel jokes they are going to tweet instead! That'd be really funny if they did.

Sean Kingston does his hit "Fire Burning", but I like "Beautiful Girls" better. Sean's not really a great dancer but the girls behind him are really good!

Back from the break and now it's time for the eliminations. The girls are up first. Nigel says they are unanimous in this result. Karla steps forward, and Nigel says the solo was very good but she must work on personality. However they think she did well enough to stay for another week, and I agree, especially since she was very good Wednesday night as well. Nigel says their decision is based on everything they know about the dancers and about what other styles of dancers they have in the show. That's good news for Asuka, since she is the only female ballroom dancer, while Paris is one of several contemporary dancers on the show. He tells Asuka it is hard to do a jive as a solo number but she really showed her personality in the dance. I agree- she did so much more than Paris. Nigel thinks Paris didn't bring everything she could, and that plus the abundance of contemporary dancers in the show means Paris is out. Woot I'm one for one! Her solo was in my opinion the worst of the six so I was hoping this would be the case. Of course we get the montage of her experience, mostly from her audition and Vegas week. We also get another glimpse of the routine from Wednesday that got her sent home.

Now comes the guys, which is the harder decision in my view. But the judges were unanimous. Hmm.. Nigel didn't like any of the solos, which is odd because I liked all three of them. He says Vitolio didn't show personality in his routines. But his name is being called first which makes me think he is safe. And he is!! Now I don't really care who goes home- I'm hoping it's Jonathan but I don't think it will be. Nigel says both disappointed in their own genres on Wednesday night, but Jonathan was a bit better. Will that be the deciding factor? Nigel adds that Tony's locking was not great. Wow I didn't notice that at all but if that's the case then he's probably gone. He adds Jonathan's dancing wasn't good but the tricks were, which I totally agree with. Those tricks might have saved him. Sure enough, Jonathan is staying and Tony is out. Not very surprising- they had one of the worse routines last night according to the judges, but from what I've read he does have a lack of technique. Plus he's not popular since people think Evan's brother should have made it instead so he wasn't going to last long anyway. Tony looks really bummed but we get to see his Nigel-photo solo again! He even says he will be dancing in his grave- that's a good attitude.

So what are your thoughts on tonight's elimination? Did the right pair go home? Post your comments below.