So You Think You Can Dance 6, November 17: If They Could See Me Now

I love how the girls get all half-naked for the opening call-outs while Russell puts on jeans and a sweatshirt. Cat reminds us that we’re only two weeks away from the top ten, which seems really soon. Tonight we’re learning how our top 14 dancers got into dance – complete with childhood photos and videos. We also get a cute picture of a nine-year-old Nigel saluting in a beret. Mary’s picture is of her as a teenager, holding a cane and wearing a tiara. Adam quips that thanks to Botox, she looks the same. Cat counters with a photo of a young flexing Adam. What, no childhood photos of Cat?

Jakob & Ashleigh – hip-hop – Tabitha and Napoleon

Ashleigh was an energetic kid and always wanted to entertain people. When she was 14 she competed in a ballroom competition that turned out to be her last for six years, thanks to illness. Jakob was an artsy kid and started dancing to lose weight because he wasn’t very active. His first dance performance was in a talent show when he was ten. It looks like it’s to “Bye Bye Bye.” Oh, Jakob.

Their routine is about a couple (shocker!), and Ashleigh discovers that Jakob’s cheating on her. She jokes that they’ve only been married for two weeks. She says her character’s torn because she loves Jakob and wants to give in, but she has to remind herself that he cheated. Tabitha says Ashleigh’s character wants to forgive Jakob’s, but once a cheater, always a cheater.

The routine is to Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say,” and it starts with Ashleigh finding a telltale text message on Jakob’s phone (which is put up on a screen, for some reason). She confronts Jakob and they start a dance fight. Ashleigh’s really into character. God help Ryan if he ever fools around on her. Moments of the routine are similar to the workaholic routine from Season 4. Once again, Ashleigh proves that she gets better every week and really did earn her spot in the competition. Jakob… well, we all know Jakob’s great. Add hip-hop to the list of styles he can do well. At the end of the routine, Ashleigh texts the other woman, “He’s all yours,” then leaves. Cat predicts that some audience members will soon be deleting messages from their phones.

Nigel liked the gimmick of the routine and tries to make an adultery joke, which doesn’t really work. The choreographers challenge Jakob every week, and he always proves himself, as well as adds something to it. Nigel’s sure he’ll be in the top ten and keep growing. He always thought Ashleigh had the ability to grow but that she would ride Jakob’s coattails to the top ten. She’s grown even faster than expected and is contributing to the partnership. She had great style tonight. Nigel thinks a lot of people who didn’t give her a chance earlier in the season are now eating their words.

Mary calls Ashleigh a star, saying she was drawn to her over and over. Her passion was believable. Jakob always hits it, and tonight was no exception. Adam says Jakob’s a pretty sure bet for the top ten; he’s crushing everything this season. He just needs to make sure he’s creating excitement beyond his movements. Adam admits that he didn’t believe in Ashleigh, but now he thinks she could also be a contender for the top ten. It has nothing to do with Jakob anymore.

Kevin & Karen – Broadway – Spencer Liff

Karen grew up in Venezuela, which we already knew, and she was a quiet, obedient kid. When she first moved to New York, she danced with the Martha Graham Dance School and had trouble understanding the technical ballet terms. She learned the language of dance by observing. Kevin is the oldest of six kids and was always the man of the house. He was very protective of his family. He didn’t start dancing until he was 17, and his most memorable performance was a Michael Jackson tribute.

I don’t know who Spencer is, but he’s cute. The pair is doing a piece from Sweet Charity – Karen’s a girlfriend trying to cheer up her boyfriend. She says Broadway looks easy, but there are a lot of components that aren’t that simple. Kevin seems to react the same way Karen did when she was a ballet student and didn’t understand what was going on.

The song is “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” as performed by Christina Applegate. Karen’s skirt is incredibly short, so you know Nigel’s paying attention. She’s very into character, and I think Kevin’s almost there, but his facial expressions don’t quite sell it. It’s one of those routines where I can’t see anything wrong with it. It seems a little slow in spots, though. I feel like it could be a tad more exciting.

Nigel welcomes Spencer before saying that the choreography was very Broadway. The style requires a lot of humor. Nigel thinks this is the first time Karen’s been asked to dance as a cute character rather than someone sexy. He didn’t enjoy this as much as he usually enjoys her piece. Shocker. Karen brought more humor to the piece than Kevin did, though. They didn’t have chemistry for each other, their characters, or the music.

Mary agrees; the piece needed more. It was nice but safe. Karen fared better than Kevin, whose posture was awkward. This is a bump in the road for the couple. Adam liked the mixture of staccato and lyrical movements Spencer used to challenge the dancers (though maybe they were challenged a little too much). He’s impressed that Kevin got through it at all, since he’s a hip-hop dancer. He also liked that Karen didn’t have to be sexy for once. While the routine wasn’t perfect, it was good for the show. Cat draws attention to Kevin’s sparkly shoes, encouraging his friends to make fun of him.