So You Think You Can Dance 6, October 27: This Dance Ain’t for Everybody

Last night we got to see all of the top 20 dancers perform (well, except for that one guy), and tonight the real competition begins. Cat, in a nice red cheongsam, reminds us that because of baseball, there will only be a performance episode this week and no results show. Instead, the judges will cut two dancers tonight.

Man, it takes a long time for the opening call-out this early in the season. It sounds like Nathan and Russell get the loudest cheers. Also, Brandon goes first, with no explanation for why he’s there yet, so people who haven’t heard the news about Billy’s exit are going to be really confused. Oh, and hey, one girl in the audience who keeps screaming? Shut your yap.

There’s no guest judge this week, and I hope that Adam’s permanent spot on the panel doesn’t mean we won’t have any guests. There’s some talk of Paula Abdul, and I really think we need to stop that unless she’s actually going to be here. Nigel thinks last night’s show contained some of the best dancing he’s ever seen. Finally he addresses Billy’s absence, saying that he won’t be coming back. In addition, Noelle injured her knee yesterday and won’t be able to dance tonight. Melanie LaPatin will dance for her, and if Noelle can’t dance next week, she’s out. What’s up with people being unable to dance when Melanie’s a choreographer?

Phillip & Channing – jive – Jason Gilkison

Channing was a tomboy growing up and played a lot of sports. Now she’s not sure what she was thinking. Phillip writes spoken-word poetry and performs all over the world. He loves it as much as he loves to dance.

Cue the talk about how crazy the jive is. Jason says the dancers need to make the fast footwork look easy.

Phillip & Channing jive to the Jackson 5’s “Rockin’ Robin,” which is an odd choice. It’s okay. You can see the effort in a lot of their moves – they pause before some of the bigger ones, so you can tell something’s coming. I don’t see any chemistry there either, just plastered smiles. This might be an easy pair to cut right away.

Adam says Channing & Phillip are a classy pairing. Phillip did well, as Adam expected, but Channing was surprising because she danced with a lot of elegance. She danced more “up” than he thought, since she’s an athlete, but she did well. Adam noticed them dropping character a little. Mary appreciates that we’re starting the show with a high-energy dance. It was nice, but not enough. Channing didn’t seem to get it until halfway through, while Phillip got lazier. Mary wants more from them. Nigel agrees with Adam about Phillip. He talks to Channing about the weight of her steps. Phillip seemed to run out of energy, and, as I noted, they didn’t have enough chemistry.

Jakob & Ashleigh – Broadway – Tyce Diorio

Ashleigh was unable to dance for six years due to injury and illness, so she’s happy to be here. Jakob is from a tiny town in Florida and moved to New York as soon as he graduated. He says it was the best decision of his life.

Eck, Tyce. They’re doing “sultry Broadway.” Ashleigh will be seducing Jakob. She thinks their chemistry has come along nicely. Jakob worries that Ryan will come after him. Isn’t Jakob, like, 12? I think he’s safe.

The song is “Hit Me With a Hot Note (And Watch Me Bounce)” from Sophisticated Ladies. Jakob is as awesome as expected, and Ashleigh holds her own very well. I’ve been worried about her, since we know she didn’t do extremely well in Vegas and almost didn’t make the top 20. I think this was a good routine for her to start with – there are a lot of spins, which she’s used to, and she could probably stand there while Jakob did everything and still get great feedback.

Adam thinks they found the chemistry. He likes Tyce’s “smart” choreographer. I like that I can see Travis Wall in the choreographers’ section. Adam thinks that Jakob was put on Earth to dance. He’s going to be hard to partner with because he’s going to do well every well. Adam warns Ashleigh to finish all of her moves. Mary’s voice is approaching a shrieky place, so we know she liked it. Ashleigh is changing Mary’s mind about her, and Jakob is a little angel from Heaven, or something.

Nigel says that Ashleigh was a surprise to get into the top 20, but both last night and tonight she proved why the judges believed in her. He’s impressed with the way she’s overcome setbacks to be here. Jakob is one of the most talented dancers to ever appear on the show. Nigel’s just upset that Billy isn’t here because he would have loved to see the two guys grow together. Jakob, who’s dripping sweat, has no reaction to Nigel saying he’s so awesome, so I wonder if he’s still trying to get used to being on the show. Nigel thinks Jakob is going to go all the way to the finals, and if Ashleigh keeps this up, she’ll go with him.

Peter & Ariana – hip-hop – Napoleon and Tabitha

Ariana lives on a farm in North Carolina and laughs about talking about a tractor on the show. Peter is from Philadelphia and is close to his Italian family. He wouldn’t be here without them.

Ariana & Peter are playing emotionless androids who… get sexy when they’re near each other? Something like that. Both of them think they connect well. Napoleon tells us that if their chemistry isn’t there, the dance won’t work.

The angels dance to Sam Sparro’s “Black and Gold.” They start out kind of tentative, like magnets that are repelling each other a little, but then it kicks in and they really hit it. Peter’s pretty good at hip-hop, but Ariana kills it. I’m happy for her, because she was one of the unknowns coming in and now she’s made a bit of a mark.