In the shake up of all shakeups, we found out today that Jessica King will no longer continue on So You Think You Can Dance due to an injury and will be replaced by Comfort Fedoke.  It's all shrouded in a veil of secrecy which will hopefully be lifted tonight when Jessica comes forward to tell us what happened.

Other than that big news, the newly selected top 10 dancers will exchange partners and groove their way to being America's favorite dancer.  I'll be here all night with my live thoughts.  Stick around!

Welcome to So You Think You Can Dance.  Cat Deeley, wearing a fluttery gold halter, perkily welcomes the top ten dancers.  Actually, only nine dancers because Jessica wasn't among them.  Jessica comes out on stage.  She says that she broke two ribs and fractured one, and has been order by her doctors to stop dancing for four weeks.  So, she's going to rest up and heal so that she'll be able to join the others when So You Think You Can Dance goes on tour.  Cat confirms that Comfort will be taking her place.

Now, it's time to welcome our....joodges!  Lil C joins Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy.  But really, the judges don't have a lot to do anymore because who goes and who stays depends solely on America's votes.  Other changes tonight are that the girls will randomly pick a new partner out of a hat, and each dancer will also do a solo.

Courtney Galiano and Joshua Allen are together this week, and they've got hip hop first.  They dance to "Skippin'" by Mario, and they've got the best costumes and hair ever.  Well, Courtney's hair is awesome anyway.  It's all huge and poufy, and she sort of looks like a hip hop goth zombie girl.  It's a really cool routine, and they do a fabulous job.  Lil C is impressed by how Josh and Courtney made the routine their own.  Mary thinks that Josh stole the show, but Courtney did a respectable job as well.

Chelsie Hightower is the first to perform a solo.  She dances a ballroom-esque routine to "Pon de Replay" by Rihanna, which I merely yawn at.

Last week was the end of Twitchington.  This week, Kherington Payne will be dancing with Mark Kanemura, and they'll be dancing the country two-step, a So You Think You Can Dance first.  There are tons and tons of turns in the country two-step, and actually, I think that one of Kherington's weaknesses is her turns.  I noticed this last week in hte tango, but her turns just don't seem energetic enough.  I think she and Mark do a pretty good job with the two-step, but they look like they are dancing very, very, very carefully.  The judges are pretty hard on Kherington, particularly, for not having a compact frame in her turns.  Nigel says that she was leading Mark a lot, even though Mark should have been leading.

Now it's Gev Manoukian's turn to solo.  He does a really cool move where he takes off his shirt (revealing a white tank top) in the same fluid motion as doing this cartwheel thing.  It's cool to watch him, but I didn't feel that his solo had a unified theme in terms of choreography.  I'm being a bit harsh on them, but it's only because I know they are all capable of so much more.

Comfort and Twitch Boss are paired together this week, and they've got a smooth waltz.  They dance to "Open Arms" by Journey, and they start out OK, but Twiitch totally steals the show.  He really takes control of his steps.  Comfort still looks really awkward and uncomfortable in heels and she looks too stiff in the upper body.  Mary tells them that the quality of movement was just not there for her.  Nigel doesn't think that they were top 10 material.

Courtney dances her solo to Celine Dion, which is her first mistake, and looks like she forgot to wear pants.  It was a good routine, but I think it was a teensy bit sloppy.  She could have had straighter extensions and such.

Katee Shean and William Wingfield dance together this week.  Wait, is this really a random pairing?  This is really unfair to the other dancers!  I bet the producers put them together on purpose because these two are clearly two of the most talented dancers in the top 10.  They have a Tyce Diorio Broadway routine to "Sit Down (You're Rocking the Boat)" from Guys and Dolls.  There's an actual rowboat in the middle of the stage and they dance in and around and over it.  Naturally, these two rock everyone's boat.  They are unstoppable, especially when Will rips his shirt open.

Mark takes to the floor for his solo and yay!  He dances to "Bohemian Rhapsody," which is what made me fall in love with him in the first place during the Vegas auditions.  He's so funny and quirky!  But honestly, I think he could have put in some meatier, flashier choreography.  But I still love him!

Chelsie and Gev are paired together.  (Poor Gev must miss his crush, Courtney.)  They have a contemporary routine, in which they play two people in love. They dance to Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine," and there is indeed a lot of arm action in the routine.  The motions are really cool because they are evocative of wind-up dolls dancing.  The judges are unanimous about how well they danced.  Nigel ribs Gev lightly about how he must have been thinking about Courtney while dancing.

Comfort dances her solo next, and I feel particularly well-equipped to judge it because we've seen her dance her solo so many times.  And you know what?  I'm not terribly impressed.  It looks exactly the same as all of her other dances.

Twitch dances his solo next, and it's awesome.  He is so charismatic and confident, and although his waltz earlier wasn't great, this solo proves to me why he deserves his spot in the top 10.

Courtney and Josh have the rumba for their second routine of the night.  The rumba is super-duper sexy, and they dance to "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias.  Yay, Josh is wearing tight pants that show off his booty.  These two have major chemistry.  I believe every smolder look they give each other, and they have some pretty good technique as well.  Lil C raves about their dance but warns Courtney not to broadcast every lift before it happesn on her face.  Mary praises them for attacking such a difficult routine, and thinks the whole thing was just fantastic.

Katee's solo is next, and she has all the straight legs and strong leaps that I was hoping for from Courtney.

Kherington and Mark have a jazz routine from Tyce Diorio.  It's a more programmatic work than we've seen before because they aren't really telling a story with this routine.  They are more just showcasing the jazz style.  It's kind of a disco-y routine, and actually, the lack of a story is a breath of fresh air.  These two are also really able to showcase their pure technique, and they are far more energetic and engaging than in their two-step.  Mary isn't shrieking about their routine, although she concedes that they were competent.  Nigel is also not raving about the dance either.  He complains that there was not heart or passion in the routine.

Will dances a solo to Luther Vandross.  Will is just a sight to behold.  He seems as if his feet don't even touch the ground.

Comfort and Twitch have a hip hop routine for their second performance.  Since both of these dancers are hip hop dancers, I'm expecting a whole lot from them tonight.  They are dressed in quasi-futuristic clothing!  Anyone get that reference?  Anyone?  Not only do I love their quasi-futuristic clothing, I love their performance.  They are so clearly both in their element.  They're so relaxed, but they hit every move exactly how they should.  It's awesome.  Lil C says, "That was kinda buck," and I thank him also for defining what buck is (the intersection of internal artistry and physical expression.)

The final girl to dance her solo is Kherington, who also dances to Rihanna, this time "Breakin' Dishes."  It's pretty good.  She shows a lot of attitude and sass.

Now it's time for another brand new dance style, a pas de deux.  I'm so very excited about this because I love the pas de deux.  It's not going to be a traditional ballet, but it still looks chock full of difficulty.  Oh no!  They are dancing to David Archuleta's version of "Imagine"!!  Notwithstanding the music selection, this is one of the most amazing routines that I have ever seen on this show.  I just had to sit here for like three minutes without typing anything just so I could absorb it all.  Wow.  I mean, WOW!  Nigel takes some time to recognize the choreographer Desmond Richardson because he's an amazing dancer and choreographer.  Nigel points out their one error, but then says that it might have been good that they made a mistake just so they can improve upon it later.

The final solo of the evening is Josh's, and he has filled his allotted few minutes with tons of tricks.

Chelsie and Gev have the jive for the last routine of the night.  Chelsie is obviously a natural at the jive, since she is a Latin and ballroom dancer, but it's also impressive just how well Gev picked it up as well.  Lil C chides Gev for not leading enough, but he raves about Chelsie's extreme confidence.  Mary, the resident ballroom expert, also thinks that it was great as well, even though Chelsie danced circles around Gev.  She does commend him for always being there for Chelsie as a partner.

So that's it for tonight, and it's up to us to vote.  Who are you voting for?  Come back tomorrow to find out who is safe, and who must say good-bye.



-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of FOX)