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(S04E18) Eight contestants left and only two weeks left until the finale? Things are going to be moving fast around the SYTYCD set. To help us keep things moving along, Nigel and Mary were joined by Toni Basil. She's best known for the '80s pop hit "Mickey" and since then she's continued to do ... you know, stuff. But where did she come from to suddenly become a judge on So You Think You Can Dance? Okay, I know she's been active in choreography behind the scenes, but it was still a pretty abrupt addition to the show.

She started off a little worrisome to me, talking about how she didn't take notes and was just enjoying the performances as a fan, but then she really got into the dances and offered valuable criticism. Whereas last week seemed pretty lackluster overall with more disappointing dances throughout the evening, this week saw one stellar performance after another. But which dancers shone the brightest for you?

THE PERFORMANCES (COUPLES)

Courtney & Will
--(Samba w/ Jean-Marc Genereaux - "I Fell in Love with the DJ," Che' Nelle) Courtney got first pick last week and wound up there again, but this time she pulled the best remaining technical male dancer on the show. I think it may have been as much the music as the dancing, but I absolutely loved the vibe of this performance. Courtney is a great partner for Will as she's so light-weight he can (and did) just throw her around as needed. She was a little out-of-control and rag-dollish in the beginning, but got a lot tighter throughout. All in all. I was impressed with their command of the form.
--(Slow Hip-Hop w/ Tabitha & Napoleon - "Like You'll Never See Me Again," Alicia Keys) Will's shooting for SYTYCD history? Cocky much? I thought Courtney hit a lot smoother than Will on this, which actually worked better for the routine. She came across a lot more natural on this than him. They weren't together quite as much as needed during the separate segments but the emotional performance was spot on. I didn't love it nearly as much as the panel. For me, the choreography was pretty awesome, but the dancing wasn't quite as much.

Katee & Twitch
--(Contemporary w/ Mia Michaels - "Mercy," Duffy) Katee & Twitch knew each other from before the show, which should help with chemistry. And on a Mia Michaels piece, the connection between the dancers is essential. Mia gave them another prop piece with a door. There were a few awkward moments, and the kiss was one of them, but overall this was an awesome bit of storytelling in dance. And, I thought they both danced it brilliantly.
--(Broadway w/ Tyce DiOrio - "Sweet Georgia Brown," Bubbling Brown Sugar (Original Broadway Cast)) Have we found a dance style that Katee isn't brilliant in yet? She absolutely tore up this routine. And Twitch just throws so much into everything he does, generally getting it way better than a hip-hop dancer should. This lead to just a great night for the pair of them in both dances.

Comfort & Mark
--(Hip-Hop w/ Tabitha & Napoleon - "Party People," Fergie f. Nelly) Is it really possible that a dancer should get the same dance style two weeks in a row? How freaking lucky can Comfort be to get hip-hop for the second week in a row after her stay of execution. This routine was a little sloppier than I would have liked at the start (mostly from Mark), but it had some good elements and I enjoyed the storytelling element of it. After that sick lift/toss the entire performance stepped it up a notch and wound up pretty damned good.
--(Fox Trot w/ Jean-Marc Genereaux - "Lady Luck," The Brian Setzer Orchestra) Well, Comfort looked incredibly uncomfortable way up on those heels, which affected her stance and movement throughout the dance. There wasn't any story element to the performance, and while there were some good elements sprinkled throughout the routine, but other than that it wasn't well danced. These two just don't have the diversity needed for this show.

Chelsie & Joshua
--(Argentine Tango w/ Dmitry Chaplin - "A Los Amigos," Forever Tango (Original Cast)) Dmitry makes me sad that we don't have more ballroom dancers remaining in the competition as a well danced tango, or so many other ballroom styles, is an amazing thing to behold. Luckily, Joshua has developed into a pretty good lead for these dances and Chelsie, of course, was right in her element. I was pretty damned impressed with the footwork both accomplished in this number. It may have been one of the best Latin dances we've seen this yet this season.
--(Disco w/ Dorianna Sanchez - "Everlasting Love," Gloria Estefan) Well, Sanchez waited four years to try and put a particular lift onto a pair of dancers that could handle it. Joshua is one of the few dancers with the physical prowess to handle it. Unfortunately, this was an incredibly awkwardly performed routine on both their parts. They almost pulled off the spin lift she wanted flawlessly, and they were handled brilliantly, but other than that they both struggled more than I expected from either of them during the actual steps. I guess they put all their effort into mastering that tango earlier on the night and on the lifts, and didn't leave enough time to learn the steps of this number.

THE PERFORMANCES (SOLOS)

• Comfort ("I Got This Down," Simian Mobile Disco) Comfort managed to mix a sexiness to her hard-hitting solo with the tight and low cut top, and I felt that she did a better job of creating a complete routine in the allotted time. She's been bringing it as hard as she can since her second chance.
  
• Will ("Get Up Offa That Thing," James Brown) I get that he was doing a James Brown type of routine, but it came across more like a bad impression than any actual dancing. No standing ovation from me, sorry.
  
• Katee ("Taking Chances," Celine Dion) The show called this "Taking Changes" but I think that's wrong. Katee is an amazing dancer and had a real joy in her solo tonight. She's in perfect control of her body.
• Mark ("Creator," Santogold f. Switch & Freq Nasty) I've reached the point where I'm getting a little bored with Mark's herky jerky contemporary style. His cartwheel looked awful, though I get what he was going for. Ultimately, I think he's outclassed at this stage and should be the next to go. And what did Cat say quiet and quick in Mark's ear? I rewound it a few times and it sounded a lot like "I'm gonna miss you," but that can't be it. Can it?
  
• Chelsie ("Damaged," Danity Kane) It's hard to do solos in a ballroom style, which is why Chelsie has channeled contemporary with most of her solos. She doesn't do that here, and I think it helped her stand out in a much more distinctive way. Coupled with a great tango, it might help keep her in the competition.
  
• Joshua ("Shawty Get Loose," Lil Mama f. T-Pain & Chris Brown) It's so great that we get to see Joshua do these solos, to remind us how great he is at hip-hop as he's certainly not been pulling it from the hat very often this season.
  
• Courtney ("Where I Stood," Missy Higgins) Another contemporary solo, but I'll give Courtney credit for putting a lot of energy into what she did.
  
• Twitch ("Go to Work," Kay L) As good as Joshua is in his solos, if you were to rate him a 10.0, you'd have to give Twitch something closer to a 12. His work just looks somehow more amazing than what others are doing.
  

BEST OF THE NIGHT
The best couple of the night was easily Twitch & Katee, but the best dance of the night for me was either Joshua & Chelsie's Argentine Tango, or that Mia Michaels piece Twitch & Katee mastered. Honestly, it's even hard to say that because there was so much good dancing tonight.

WORST OF THE NIGHT
Sorry, Joshua & Chelsie but that broadway routine was pretty bad for me, outside of those lifts. But still, you didn't have the worst dance of the night. That honor goes to Mark & Comfort for their fox trot, which will hopefully help lead them both to their eliminations this week.