Tonight is the night. We're one elimination away from the half way point of the season with tonight's all important Top 12 performance show. Tonight is the night that determines who'll make the coveted Top 10 and who will narrowly miss the So You Think You Can Dance tour squad.

To make it to the coveted top 10, the tour, and the great partner switch-a-roo the top 12 will have to each perform two dances. Watch along with me here and in 140 character quips over on BuddyTV's So You Think You Can Dance Twitter.


Alright Top 12, bring it! Earn those Top 10 spots! Blessedly with 12 dances to be done tonight should be all killer, no filler. Or at least, mostly. Fingers crossed.

Ellenore and Ryan
Style: Lindy Hop
Choreographer: Carla Heiney
Song: "I've Got To Be A Rug Cutter" by Boilermaker Jazz Band

This has the potential for, as Carla Heiney would say, pure awesome. Ryan and Ellenore look physically fantastic with their costumes and their dancing. The lindy hop really serves Ellenore's personality well and, of course, it utilizes Ryan's He-Man strength with lots and lots of lifts. I'm loving the heck out of this dance, but at points it seems to be going a little slow for a traditional lindy hop. At points it misses the full throttle pep, though the personality Ryan and Ellenore are bringing are 100% in the spirit of the dance. Great routine, not perfect, but definitely awesome.

Judges Say: Adam says it was a great way to start the night and that Ellenore gets better every week and the lindy hop was made for her. (Shanks, we agree!) Mary bets your bippy it was tremendous! She especially appreciated the end, where Ryan and Ellenore did the splits. Yes, Thor can do the splits. Ryan and Ellenore than beg, for good reason, not to split the partnership. Nigel thought it was terrible .... that they hadn't had the lindy hop for three seasons. He commends Ryan for getting into the floor when dancing, and says that the routine was terrific to watch. Agreed.


Kathryn and Legacy
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Song: "So Deep" by Hot Chip

The routine starts out with a crazy b-boy crab walk by Legacy, which shows off his strength tremendously. This is a sexy jazz routine, but Legacy seems to be doing nearly as much b-boying as jazz technique. Kathryn, meanwhile, is a vision with pointed toes and fearless movement. When he is allowed/choreographed to do jazz moves, Legacy looks really great. He's obviously listening and watching Kathryn's technique and toes. Solid routine,a great partnership I will be sad to see split, but I wasn't completely wowed.

Judges Say: Adam thinks if they keep dancing that way they'll be making it all the way to the finale. Mary thought that Legacy is getting better every week and that Kathryn is drop dead gorgeous. Nigel thought it was one of his favorite routines of the season. (Scratching my head.) He says that Legacy wasn't only dancing, he was dancing "bloody well."  All three judges commend Sonya for bringing in b-boy moves to highlight Legacy.

This all leads to a very real question: Why is it great when choreographers highlight Legacy's b-boy moves, but they are chided for utilizing Jakob Karr's contemporary technique and moves?
 
Victor and Karen
Style: Tango
Choreographer: Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin
Song: Monstreatt

Karen should kills this tango, if her new partnering lets her. Karen is the dancing equivalent of the black widow tonight: silent but deadly. She is sharp, crisp, sexy, staccato perfection. Her movement has intention and strength. Victor looks a bit tentative, but he is strong in hold and gains confidence outside of it throughout the dance. He has the perfect poise of the aloof and angry tango down in hold, but again, less so outside of the hold where his butt sticks out oddly. Victor also suffers from Kevin's fate, it's hard to even see him with Karen smoldering on stage tonight.

Judges Say: Adam says this is a partnership that ended up working out and that the routine was great for Victor. Mary said she was surprised by Victor did so well, but he had the haughty air of the tango down. She also notes that the it was an incredibly difficult choreography. Karen is still on the hot tamale train for the umpteenth week in a row, while Victor is gaining steam. Nigel appreciated the wardrobe and the intensity. Nigel also thinks that Karen has a J-Lo/Shakira magnetism. The true gist of the judges comments were we're shocked that Victor didn't really stink.


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