TVSquad

(S06E18) I'm surprised how well So You Think You Can Dance can cover up the fact that the first 30 minutes can be wasted in just finding out who the bottom three were. It felt like the two-couples-at-a-time technique worked better than having three couples up at one time. One thing I'm happy to see in the recaps are the slo-mo camera angles. Other angles only show up on Dancing with the Stars when someone trips or falls.

Sure, the show could be completed in 30 minutes, but at least they filled the time with a strong group performance, ballet, and Shakira.

Group Performance - "What's a Girl Gotta Do" - I was happy to see The Alice in Wonderland inspired piece. I was even more shocked when they said that Tabitha and Napoleon were the choreographers; I guess I expect only good Lyrical Hip-Hop pieces from them. I laughed when they incorporated the duck walk, which is a very vogue style of movement. Of course, they let Legacy do some break-dancing, but the performance didn't need it to make it better.

Musical Guest - American Ballet Theater (Paloma Herrera) - They invite the American Ballet Theater, as if they want to discredit what Melissa last season called ballet, and show what a ballerina can actually do. The toe point walk was admirable. I was disappointed that the routine felt short.

We find out that our bottom three are Karen & Victor, Mollee & Nathan, and Ellenore & Ryan. Adam reminds Nathan of something important: stop sounding like such a douchebag in the packages before the dance.

Solos

Karen - This week, Karen tries some hip actions and leg motions, instead of just model poses. I'm underwhelmed by her performance, and she can't keep using the excuse that ballroom dancers can't do good solos. Both Chelsie Hightower and Even Asuka last year switched it up and did one jive solo to show versatility.

Victor - Victor uses a very hard song and tries his best to have passion, but it came off a little desperate. His knee drop was impressive, but he used it in his audition so I'm desensitized.

Mollee - Mollee is sporting the unitard which reminded me of last season's Randi. Her tumbling pass was strong and her spins were applaudable, as well. She fell out of her last spin sequence, but recovered with a strong end pose.

Nathan - I like Nathan's use of slow, smooth movements followed by quick sharp movements. I'm happy that he kept pretty low to the ground and the low spin was a good change up.

Ellenore - She has the right combination of dance skills and personality. It's as if she practiced all her solos before she got on the show. Cat points out how different each of her solos have been.

Ryan - I feel guilty because I love watching Ryan, but I didn't want him in the bottom three. Ryan's solo is both better and sexier than Karen's, and he correctly used a lot of sexy Samba steps to get the girls to scream like crazy.

Musical Performance - Shakira - "Give it up to Me" - I like Shakira's step team. It's something I didn't expect from her, and it was really nice to see. The last time I saw her on TV was during the results show of Dancing with the Stars, and the performance was very different. I do think Shakira used the really big stage well by having a lot of backup dancers. Even the very simplistic thrust ending was accented by the Communist-style video in the background.

After the commercial break, Nigel announces that the judges are unanimous for the women: Karen is going home. As for the men, the judges weren't unanimous, but Victor is going home. Nigel compares Victor to Kelly Osbourne and actually says the words "Dancing with the Stars." I'm impressed that he's gutsy enough to refer to the other dancing show.

I'm not surprised at all by the eliminations. Are you? Leave your comments below.