Well, hello, top ten. At this point, I'll say a few things that I've said last week, and you probably already know them more than me. These are the kids who'll make the So You Think You Can Dance tour. These kids will have different partners every week, and their fates will lie solely in the hands of the American people, so all the judges can do is give their take and get disregarded for it. And, judging from the way this season has gone, it's the time when many of these dancers get kicked out of their comfort zones (finally, perhaps) and we'll see who can really make it or who just got a free pass.

But that's not exactly the only thing that makes tonight's performances different. There is, as you may very well know, a matter of scheduling. Since Fox will air another one of President Obama's prime time press conferences, tonight's performance show will air from 8:30-11pm if you're in the East Coast. Those in the West Coast can watch it in the usual time, from 8-10pm. I know, it's a bit confusing. What do we do with the extra thirty minutes? Or, will there be an extra thirty minutes? And why should it matter? We have a nice of dancing ahead!

So, like every Tuesday morning, here are the details I've gathered about tonight's performances, thanks to the folks at SYTYCDism and IdolForums. I've read a bit more but that'd be too much to handle, so that said, here are the pairs and their styles, and then, what I think will happen:

Ashleigh and Legacy: Contemporary (Gary Stuart) and hip-hop (Dave Scott)
Isn't it coincidence that the two dancers credited with growing the most during the past five weeks are paired together? Better yet, will anybody of these two break? While it's unusual to see a pair do both a contemporary routine and a hip-hop routine in the same week, I'm pretty confident they'll sparkle tonight. Ashleigh's a stranger to contemporary so far, but she slammed her hip-hop routine to the floor. As for Legacy, well, what else can't he do?

Ellenore and Jakob: Contemporary (Sonya Tayeh) and quickstep (Tony Meredith/Melanie LaPatin)
Ahh, my favorite Ellenore, coupled with the best contemporary dancer this season, Jakob. Another pairing in the stars, I guess? I don't really know, especially since they're doing the dance of death tonight, the ever-so-dreaded quickstep. But I've read that these two will get a standing ovation because of their contemporary routine so for us clueless kids it's something to watch out for tonight.

Kathryn and Nathan: Broadway (Spencer Liff) and rumba (Tony Meredith/Melanie LaPatin)
Ahh, Nathan. For a moment last week I thought he will be eliminated, but Nigel is still vouching for him... at least until he loses control of who wins. Now he has to really grow up. (Just to clear things up, no, I'm not a Nathan hater.) Kathryn may provide some cushion for him, after her wonderful Kathacy work the past five weeks. Some suggest the rumba might be his way back to prominence, but I'm afraid he wouldn't look the part. And, was I right in hearing that he dreads that style?

Mollee and Russell: Lyrical jazz (Mandy Moore) and jive (Pasha Kovalev/Anya Garnis)
And another one: Mollee! She's pretty stoked to be dancing with Russell this week, and I think she'll be able to cope, too. Jive is high-energy and fits her personality more. Russell's shone a few times but has slipped since, and while he might do wonders with the lyrical jazz routine, I'll go on a limb and say I've never warmed to Mandy Moore's routines, so my expectations aren't so high.

Noelle and Ryan: Waltz (JT Thomas and Tomas Mielnicki) and hip-hop (Tabitha and Napoleon)
Noelle is a good technical dancer, but many of you have correctly pointed out that she's lacking the charisma needed to shine. Ryan's gotten notice, too, but while he's a good dancer I've also yet to feel who he really is: I think he looked fun because Ellenore is an alien from outer space. (Wink.) In other words, no, I don't know what will happen. Ryan's lucky Nappy Tabs is doing his hip-hop, but I'm not looking for a complete turnaround from that disaster of a krump routine a few weeks back. So-so this week, I guess.

Take note: depending on where you are watching, tonight's performances will air at either 8:30pm or 8pm. Or 7:30pm. Or 7pm. These time changes are getting me really confused.





(Image courtesy of Fox)