So You Think You Can Dance 6, November 25: The Thanksgiving Slaughter

Last night was our last chance to see the original couples perform together (unless any of them make it to the final four and get paired up again). Tonight two will go home, and next week we’ll hit the refresh button for the top ten.

The group dance is to “What’s a Girl Gotta Do” by Basement Jaxx. Everyone’s in neon clothes with wild face paint. So it’s kind of like clowns gone crazy. I think this might be a Napoleon/Tabitha routine, but it’s hard to tell. I love how into character everyone is. Hey, I got one right! It was Tabitha and Napoleon.

Cat reminds us that three couples are safe and will proceed straight to the top ten, while three pairs will have to dance for their lives. Cat tries to get Nigel to talk about next week, but first he wants to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. He likes holidays that bring families together. Back to the show: Nigel notes that starting next week, the judges have no say in who stays and who goes. People who are truly passionate about the show need to support who they love. Cat says she doesn’t want Nigel to get angry, but he will if he doesn’t agree with who goes home.

Mary’s proud of all the dancers. This is the bittersweet part of the season where the judges lost their control. But she’s not worried because everyone’s so good. She couldn’t ask more of them. Adam says the dancers will have to instantly create chemistry with each other, and the choreographers will be challenged by a new pairing of styles. The positive thing is that the top ten will all go on tour. Adam wants them to stop worrying so much and be more confident. They also need to have fun. Stress won’t help. Nigel says that the dancers are so talented that sometimes it feels like an honor to watch them.

The first two couples for verdicts are Jakob & Ashleigh and Victor & Karen. Gee, I wonder which pair will be in trouble? Last night Karen & Victor did a pretty good Argentine tango and a not-so-great hip-hop. Ashleigh & Jakob were my hot couple of the night, mastering both jazz and the cha-cha. Karen & Victor are back in the bottom three, while Jakob & Ashleigh are our first two dancers in the top ten.

Mary agrees with Cat that it’s tough for dancers to come so close to the top ten and possibly just miss it. Mary isn’t surprised that Victor & Karen are where they are, though. They’ve grown and had amazing journeys. In their favors is the fact that the judges love Karen and Victor had a great solo last week.

Up next are Mollee & Nathan and Legacy & Kathryn. We all know how I hope this turns out. Nathan & Mollee played around with a phone in a hip-hop routine that got mixed reviews, and they did the show’s first can-can pretty well. Legacy & Kathryn did an awesome Sonya jazz routine and a mostly good waltz. The couple joining Victor & Karen in the bottom three is Mollee & Nathan.

Cat asks Adam what happened, since Nathan & Mollee were considered fan favorites. Adam thinks they didn’t connect with the audience last night. He also blames Mollee’s injury, which is dumb, because people dance injured on this show all the time, and really, can we stop talking about it? He thinks these two are too young together; they keep each other on the immature side. Adam warns the kids to watch what they say in the clip packages because other people may say they feed Bosnian refugees in their spare time while Nathan goes jet-skiing. The clip packages have a big impact on how the audience views the dancers. Good point.

We’re left with Ryan & Ellenore and Russell & Noelle. This could go either way. Noelle & Russell did a great contemporary piece and a mostly entertaining but somewhat disappointing samba. Ellenore & Ryan were pretty solid in both a Lindy hop and a Broadway routine. The third couple in the bottom three is… Ellenore & Ryan. I guess Russell’s fans came through after all. I foresee Noelle being unceremoniously dumped next week.