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(S04E12) I'm filling in for Jason as he had some technical difficulties last night. So let's get right to it. Tabitha and Napoleon were helping out Mary and Nigel at the judges table. And thank goodness for that. I've been waiting to see someone else's hip-hop choreography. Theirs is very hit or miss for me.

We got to see fourteen routines tonight on So You Think You Can Dance as the seven couples appeared twice. I love when they move to this part of the competition. You get to see right away who has the determination, strength, and technical know-how to stay alive on this show.

And it was a night of crazy hair...

THE PERFORMANCES:

Jessica and Will danced a jive, choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie to "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" from Five Guys Named Moe (Original Broadway Cast). Like Nigel said, the dance was a good opening. Tabitha said that she felt them fighting for their lives. I definitely felt that too. And I felt like Jessica relaxed a little after that trick where she jumps over Will's back and comes flying through his legs back into an upright position. Mary and Nigel both agreed that Jessica still isn't quite up to snuff yet. Will's energy went down a little from last week too. I don't think Jessica is bringing him down though; he was probably just trying to remember all the intricacies of the dance.

Comfort and Thayne danced a Broadway routine by Andy Blankenbuehler to "Cool" from West Side Story. Thank-you Nigel! The choreography was excellent and very much in the vein of Jerome Robbins. But the performance was lackluster. I would have rather watched Chris and Chelsea do that routine. I feel a little cheated.

Kourtni and Matt did a Cecily and Alyssa hip-hop routine to "How Do I Breathe" by Mario. And the slow night just continued. These past two numbers made Jessica and Will's jive look even better. Napoleon pointed out that their performance would not fly well at a hip-hop competition. They looked like fish out of water.

Chelsea and Mark did a jazz routine choreographed by Mandy Moore to "Kiss Kiss" by Holly Vance. It was really good, especially compared to the last three pieces. They did a good job hitting that choreography which was quite fast. Also, kudos to Mandy More for playing to Chelsea's Latin ballroom background with all those hip movements. Their partnering tricks were wacky though. Mark isn't all that strong so a few of the transitions with the lifts were awkward. Mark is much stronger dancing beside Chelsea (as opposed to intertwining and lifting and turning her through the space).

Kherrington and Twitch danced a paso doble by Tony Meredith and Melanie to "Malaguena " by the Brian Setzer '68 Comeback Special. It was, umm, interesting. Nigel thought Kherrington demanded more of Twitch than he gave. Mary conceded it was entertaining, but she didn't think it was that great. Tabitha and Napoleon pointed out that Twitch only came alive halfway through the performance. I'm on the fence for this one. Some parts were good, but Kherrington's facial expressions are starting to irritate me. I don't find her believable. The hair didn't help either (but that's not her fault).

Katee and Joshua performed a contemporary routine by Mia Michaels to "Hometown Glory" by Adele. Why do contemporary dancers always look like they have some serious intestinal pain? That said, I liked this performance. It just exploded about twenty seconds in. Tabatha pointed out that they both had such presence -- even with plain walking, you couldn't take your eyes off them. Mary called it "monumental stillness."

Gev and Courtney danced a hip-hop number by Cecily and Alyssa to "Lights, Camera, Action" by Mr. Cheeks. Tabatha, Napoleon and Mary all agreed that Gev was outdanced by Courtney. I have to agree too. Courtney really held her own out there. Of course, the piece had some parts that could've been better. The energy was very one note. They should have saved something extra for the chorus of the song. Also, I know it's their choreography, but Cecily and Alyssa couldn't have used Gev's breaker tricks a little? Just a little?

Jessica and Will did their second routine to a Mandy More Lyrical Jazz number, "Alone" by Heart. That was excellent. Well executed, believable expression, and amazing energy. Oh, and Heart rocks. I was skeptical about the shirt too (especially after last week's "mud" sheet in Chris and Comfort's Jazz). But it works. He undresses her. He dresses her. He undresses her. You get the picture.

Comfort and Thayne danced their second piece to an Edward Simons Smooth Waltz. The piece was set to "Hov Arek Sarer Jan" by Neew Age Armenia. This piece had some beautiful lifts. Comfort needs to watch her hands when she's up that high being presented to the audience. The piece had a chilling atmosphere and a very "period" feel to it. The judges seemed to agree that this piece was much better than the couple's first one.

Kourtni and Matt did a mambo by Alex Da Silva to "Ban-Con-Tim " by Super All-Star. Mary didn't believe the chemistry. Tabatha wanted more from Matt. Nigel brought up a great point about the routine's difficulty: the choreographer and his partner were shorter than the dancers. This is very true. Smaller people can move through space at a different speed than tall people. Shorter people (obviously) are closer to the ground and have a lower center a gravity. That's why getting Kourtni's long legs to fly around Matt in the beginning lift was probably very tough.

Chelsea and Mark performed their second dance to "It's My Life" by Paul Anka, a foxtrot choreographed for them by Edward Simons. I enjoyed it. Mary Murphy reminded everyone that there were some very hard steps in that routine. I didn't notice -- most of the routine was effortlessly danced.

Twitch and Kherrington danced their second piece to "Dreaming with a Broken Heart " by John Mayer, a contemporary piece by Mia Michaels. Tabatha said, "Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome." Napoleon said it was storytelling at its best. Mary said Mia Michaels had outdone herself. And Nigel quipped that the routine was about him. I agree with Nigel that they were committed to the characters. I'm not one for contemporary routines and I enjoyed this. The story was there. I just don't like all the harsh movements -- they come off too spazzy for me. They're a little funny even and lend themselves to parody. I liked Mandy More's lyrical choreography much better. This piece was better than Katee and Joshua's routine we saw earlier in the night though. What do you think?

Katee and Joshua did a west coast swing number choreographed by season two winner Benji Schwimmer. The piece was set to "Shake It" by Brother Yusef. The routine got a Mary scream. Nigel pointed out that they played totally different characters with their routines tonight. I was a little scared when they did those cartwheels though. Joshua is too strong for his own good sometimes.

Courtney and Gev did a Broadway routine by Andy Blankenbuehler to "New York, New York," by Bernstein, Comden and Green. The judges raved about it. I adored this number. It had all the exuberance of On The Town. I thoroughly enjoyed it because Courtney and Gev committed to the goofiness and joie de vive of the characters they played. I look forward to seeing more from this choreographer.

BEST OF THE NIGHT
Here's my top three routines...
Jessica and Will's Lyrical Jazz
Chelsea and Mark's jazz
Courtney and Gev's Broadway

WORST OF THE NIGHT

Comfort and Thayne's Broadway
Kourtni and Matt's hip-hop

OUTFIT OF THE NIGHT
Comfort's black and gray dress in the Smooth Waltz was incredibly understated and elegant. But the outfits of the night were the ones Courtney and Gev wore for the Broadway number.

BEST LINE OF THE NIGHT
Okay, there's three...
"If I get my boo now, can I then talk after it?" -- Nigel being snarky to the audience
"Talent is flame and genius is fire. And that was fire. Whaaaooooo." -- Mary on Will and Jessica's Lyrical Jazz piece
"I'm going and I have a feather in my mouth" -- Tabatha on Chelsea in her Foxtrot

OTHER STUFF

• Katee and Joshua are phenomenal. Nigel said that they are one of the four couples who will make this season outstanding. Wouldn't it be funny if the girl who almost got cut at the last second won the whole show? (I wrote that before Napoleon said it on the show. Just pointing it out.)
  
• What was with the hair? Were the stylists on dope this week? Cat had her goldy locks pinned up. Kherrington looked like a blonde version of Bridgitte Neilsen in Red Sonja. Katee looked like a cockatoo.
• After looking so incredible in that blue half-dress last week, Courtney could not have looked worse in her first costume. Highwaters and Tims? Really?
• Cat Deeley looked like a really pretty birthday present tonight.
• Mandy More picks the best songs.
• Jessica isn't as good as Will. Will is amazing. But but but, Jessica is still excellent. I'm sick of hearing her told she's bringing him down. I think he's even sick of it. I was so pleased when Mary said Jessica did well in her second routine.
• Did I detect a little Simon / Paula dynamic with Nigel and Mary tonight?