So You Think You Can Dance 4, July 10: Time to Move On

Last elimination before the tour, ladies and gentlemen. The excitement is palpable! If you missed last night’s episode, start surfing YouTube or just read Jenn’s recap for the juicy details. It was an interesting night. Kherington & Twitch struggled with their routines, and Jessica & Will performed a beautiful contemporary routine but also the dreaded quickstep. The bottom three couples determined by both Jenn and I are Comfort & Thayne, Jessica & Will, and Kherington & Twitch. I think Thayne’s departure from us tonight is inevitable and that the nailbiter will be between Jessica and Comfort tonight.

(I will continue referring to couples by their initials: Kherington & Twitch become K&T while Chelsie & Mark become C&M.)

I love Cat from the neck down in a cute strapless black dress, but she’s rocking some MAJOR sex hair which drives me bonkers. We’ve got a group number to “Closer” by Ne-Yo. I’ve gotta say, everyone’s doing pretty well for themselves in this routine. I even make sure to look for everyone when the lights were on to see how they do.

When the lights are off, we are treated to some glowing/lights coming from the lining of their windbreaker jackets and it’s a cool effect, and the critic comes out in me because I can see that some people’s arm positions are different than others but since it’s pitch black, I can’t tell who looks different. I noticed that Comfort doesn’t have a feature section and that Gev is doing some kind of head/handstand AGAIN. That boy’s gotta have one strong noggin! Oh, and our routine was choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon. Good job, you two! And good luck on your new show coming up on TLC!

Cat comes out and reminds us we’re close to figuring out who’s going to be on the tour, and I notice that her shoes are fabulous! We’re introduced to the judges, and Nigel tells us that the dance battle between Robert and Phillip (the poppers) will be on for the finale. Sweet! Cat rushes us on to the first two couples.

We start with Comfort & Thayne and Katee & Joshua. Cat asks if either of them are in the bottom. I can answer that question. We get footage of them interacting before they got on stage and C seems irritated that T’s in her space. I’ll bet that’s a part of her disconnection issues. Anyway, we’re reminded how they didn’t have the greatest of nights and that Nigel predicted them to be in the bottom again. First we are reminded of how K&J did, and they fared much better. Their waltz was pretty and their Bollywood routine was really great, and Mary put them “back” on the Hot Tamale Train even though I’m pretty sure they haven’t gotten out of first class.

We learn that C&T are in the bottom again. Mia says this was inevitable and that America and the judges have been trying to tell “you” something, and I first think she’s addressing both of the dancers, but when she talks about how she doesn’t want “you” to leave and she hopes “you” take the opportunity to step up, I get a feeling she’s really talking about just Comfort. I’m not sure, though, just a feeling I got. Cat seconds the notion that we don’t want anyone to leave and that we look forward to watching their solos. I’ll bet the dancers are really grateful for how supportive Cat is.

Our next couple of dancers on the block are Jessica & Will and Chelsie & Mark. We get a playback of J&W’s beautiful contemporary routine and their lackluster quickstep. I notice that we hear Mia say, “You need a new partner” to Will but not the bit about Will being “tired of carrying” Jessica. I was piddling around on the internet this morning and Mia got a bit of backlash for her comments. I think part of it was also just her loopy lingo, so don’t think too much of it.

Anyway, we’re also reminded of C&M’s great night. Despite less-than-stellar technique, M did a great job in the salsa while C tore it up like there was no tomorrow. Their Broadway routine was also very spicy even though I thought it lacked actual dancing. Good for them!

Cat tells us one of these couples is in the bottom… and it’s J&W. We hear from Mary. She admits the quickstep was “rocky” but that their other number was absolutely beautiful. She points out Debbie Allen, Will’s mentor, in the audience and that she’s proud of both of them and will fight for them to stay. What great encouragement before they go do their solos! The judges are so sweet on elimination night.

Lastly, we have Courtney & Gev and Kherington & Twitch. We see footage of C&G’s cha-cha and their introduction to the Hot Tamale Train as well as their very fun jazz routine. They had a great night! Not so much for K&T… Their krump routine started really well, and we don’t get footage or comments about the end of their routine that really fell apart. It’s hard to avoid the critiques for their smooth tango, because that’s all we hear.

Jenn’s and my predictions are correct this week and K&T are in the bottom three. We hear from Nigel and the couple does not get the flowery encouragement that the other couples received. He warns them that inconsistency lands even them in the bottom, and that they need to get back to form because they may not be safe if they stumble from this point on. True, but cryptic. K&T nod in understanding.

Now that we know who are soloists will be, we get a performance from our guest dancers. It’s none other than the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre for their upcoming celebration of their 50th anniversary! Their music is “Sinnerman” by Billy Porter. It’s indescribable how beautiful these three performers are. You can see every muscle working from miles away, that’s how much strength is behind their movements. Their leaps are amazing and they could hold their centers on their turns for hours! This is a truly special performance. If you aren’t familiar with this group, here’s some history from their website. Not surprisingly, the audience is on their feet at the end of the performance.