Destination 'So You Think You Can Dance': Best and Worst

Cat Deeley wore a hippie dress with bohemian earrings tonight, but that doesn't mean the atmosphere at "So You Think You Can Dance" studios was one of free love.  In fact, the judges were extra harsh tonight, dreaming up colorful metaphors to bash not only perpetual denizens of the bottom three, but also, crowd favorites. 

Nobody was safe from the wrath of Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and Mia Michaels tonight.  Here are some of the best – and worst – moments from the evening. 

1. Most likely to drive you wild. Whoever you are.

Chelsie Hightower is as sexy as she is spunky.  With her Barbie doll hair and a track jacket zipped up to her chin, Chelsie's contradictory traits make her irresistible.  Or perhaps Mia Michaels said it best: "I wanna stab you, you're so gorgeous."

2. Most sorely overlooked

Come. On.  Nigel.  Maybe Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson don't have the best chemistry in the group, but taken separately, can you honestly say that Comfort's pops and twists weren't riveting tonight? 

3. Most familiar disappointment

Poor Thayne. When the cheerful boys take up hip-hop, the results are never good.  Remember Chris Jarosz?

4. Biggest "huh?" moment

Was I the only one out there shocked when Mary called Will Wingfield and Jessica King's sexy loincloth number "one of the most amazing pieces I've ever seen on the show"?

5. Gev Manoukian takes the reins!

All these weeks, we've watched Courtney Galiano dominate Gev, both on and off of the dance floor.  Well, tonight, maybe thanks to his time-stopping solo last Thursday, Gev took control. The power shift was most evident, not in Gev's expression, but in the way Courtney looked at him.

6. Psssst! Courtney!

Make sure you don't go all the way to level three in the mystic tan booth next time. It's an honest mistake. We've all done it.  But you looked a bit – er – lipless tonight.

7. A moment of mercy

For some odd reason, the judges decided to show their soft side during Kherington Payne and Twitch Boss' crumping routine.  They all agreed that Kherington lost steam at the end of the dance, but instead of criticizing her, they agreed to let it go. "I'm gonna ignore the tiredness," announced Mia Michaels, before raining praise on the flaxen-haired favorite. What? Why?

8. Inevitable fall from grace

Katee Shean and Joshua Allen got their first criticism tonight, during their dancing-on-air, ghost-love routine.  As much as I live for this twosome, I have to agree with the judges on this one. Katee, why were you smiling? You were dancing with a ghost – that’s weird! Somehow, none of the eeriness of the choreography came through in the performance.

9. Most narrowly avoided wardrobe malfunction

During Chelsie and Mark's "W.O.M.A.N." dance – which I loved – I spent the first half of the number petrified that Chelsie's flouncy top would not contain her.  Now, I'm sure there was an elaborate wire-and-pulley system in place to ensure her safety, but I wish the costume people wouldn’t mess with my mind like that.

10. Best sport

Oh Comfort. Dear Comfort. How can you stand there, week after week, and endure these scathing critiques without ever shedding a tear?

11. Most comically unmatched twosome

Will entered the stage with some sort of gravity defying double flip.  Jessica followed with what can only be described as a forward walkover.  And she got stuck in her dress.

12. And you thought Nigel was bold!

Oh, Mia Michaels. You're like the Eminem of the judges' table.  You have a way of saying what everybody else is too polite to say. Tonight, Mia sighed and looked deep into Will's eyes.  Then she said, 'Will, you look tired of carrying [Jessica]…You look tired. You're tired."  Ouch.

13. Dark horse

He gave Courtney Galiano's rear end a "message" with his crotch, he did a headstand and clapped with his feet, and he delivered the best line of the night: "I've never kicked a girl. Especially in the head." Meet Gev Manoukian: dark horse. 

14. Most pleasant surprise

Courtney and Gev's map routine actually wasn't awful. At all. From what I've seen, those prop-based routines usually tend to do more harm than good. 

15. Well, you could knock me over with a feather

When Joshua and Katee picked Bollywood out of a hat, they didn't even know what it was.  Who would have thought that just days later, the ever-masculine Joshua would find his niche in a jewel encrusted stocking cap, jingling anklets, a sequin vest and beaded cuff bracelets? 

But from the moment he stepped out in that light-refracting ensemble, Joshua was Bollywood. He committed to a dance that was totally out of his comfort zone, and as far as I'm concerned, he won the night for it!

16. Falling flower

I used to think of Comfort as a cactus: strong resilient, in it for the long haul.  But now I'm afraid she's turning into a falling flower.  During that freestyle dance segment at the end of the show -- typically Comfort's favorite time to show off her moves -- she could barely fake a smile.

-- Stephanie Lysaght

Comments

[Ship]

Wow, I have to disagree with you on Thayne and Comfort. I thought Thayne actually out-hip-hopped Comfort. Not that he did well, but she didn't look comfortable (even in her own style). She needs to go. In fact, I'm guessing they'll both go this week.

[Carli]

9. LOL I was worrying about the same thing! So much so, that I was finding it hard to watch the performance at times.

15. Joshua, masculine? That's not exactly the adjective I'd use to describe him. Will perhaps, but not Joshua. I'd go with something like 'cuddly'.

[sarah]

The judges were really unfair to look the other way when Kherington "got tired" but to criticize Jessica and Comfort for essentially the same thing. I've really enjoyed the judges on this show in the past seasons, but this season, they don't seem to be as helpful or as caring as they have in seasons past. It's too bad.

Comfort and Thayne's time is up. Can't imagine who else would go at this point.

[Blair Waldorff]

I'm still outraged by the fact that not one of the judges HATED the crumping as much as any of them should have. Has anyone seen ABDC on MTV? Any one of those groups would've been 100 times better AND not at all tired. I'm disappointed that this late in the game, they will let kherington get away with such a terrible performance.

[Maxee Mulder]

I am getting a little tired of Jessica. They have only liked her in two routines and they were both contemporary, which is her style...that's just a tad bit annoying..

[ExSinger]

So glad to see Comfort and Thayne go! Comfort was all attitude and no talent. Thayne was all smile and no attitude. I'm rooting for Jessica, who is a fantastic dancer (aside from being the most gorgeous creature ever -- other than my wife, of course!).
My top 10, in reverse order:
10. Jessica
9. Courtney
8. Gev
7. Chelsie
6. Twitch
5. Kherington
4. Joshua
3. Mark
2. Katee
1. Will

[SafeTinspector]

Funny you should mention how it should be weird for Katee to dance with a ghost.
I thought it was weird to try to saddle the dance-number with such a silly back story anyway. What part of that choreography could be interpreted as dancing with a phantasm anyway?

[beatrighter]

Speaking of wardrobe malfunctions, Kherington did have one at the 1:03 mark of the Krump routine in which her entire right boob is visible!!! A Janet Jackson microsecond but still a boob exposed on a national TV network. It is difficult to tell it on YouTube but I taped the show on a VCR and on the tape using freeze frame and slomo it is quite apparent that all that chest thumping dislodged her breast and set it free. A very nice one by the way.

[SafeTinspector]

beatrighter, if you have to go through all that to see a nipple you just aren't using google correctly.