'So You Think You Can Dance' recap: Less of the Same

The Good Dancers

And that is not how I want to leave you, dear readers, so I've saved the best for last. Like Joshua Allen, whose forceful hip-hopping and winning smile had me beaming. Or like Ryann Race, whose fluid flow dancing so won over the judges that they put him through to Vegas even though it would appear he crashed and burned during the choreography stage. The strip-club DJ with the stripper girlfriend was responsible for my two favorite lines of the night: One, when he lamented that ''it's hard to be a couple in a strip club.'' (Ain't it, though?) And two, this slice of random crazy from Mary after Ryann's audition: ''You definitely have something cooking for you nice cool and groovy, mister sir, I say, heh heh haaaaaaa.'' (I say, I say, Mary's turning into Foghorn Leghorn. The cartoon, that is.)

Of the three strongest male dancers last night, the one who stood out the most to me was Thayn Jasperson — so, of course, he got the least screen time out of all of them. (For a second there, I even wondered if he was a mute.) Matt Dorame's technique seemed strong, but while Nigel was distracted by his gym shorts, did anyone else find his gee-gaw Broadway grinning even more odd, especially against the grunge-y, emo-y rock track he danced to? Gev Manoukian gets points for learning other dancing styles after getting cut from season 2's auditions, but his whole routine felt slightly forced to me, as if he were uncomfortable with dancing on a surface that wasn't 25 degrees and Zamboni-slick.

The real standouts from last night, though, were Arielle Coker and Kelli Baker. I was kinda shocked, really, that the producers didn't sic Cat on Arielle and her partner, John Dix for the third degree about their ''relationship.'' (Of course, when Arielle admitted that John pretty much does everything she asks of him, we all knew exactly how that story was going to end...and then we saw how, when she awkwardly pushed him away after she'd made it to Vegas.) But Arielle's dancing was light, expressive, and maybe my favorite of the season thus far.

Okay, no, Kelli was my favorite. And Nigel's. And Mary's. And Mandy's. Even though she faltered after one of her jumps, Kelli's lines, technique, floor work, um, musicality and, er, extension were all first rate. Which is to say, I haven't the first clue why she was so fabulous; I just know she was. (And she kinda better be, what with having an Emmy-winning choreographer for a mother.) This otherwise lackluster episode just may be remembered instead as the debut of a SYTYCD front-runner — although, given that we didn't even glimpse Sabra until the very end of the Vegas episodes, I'm not holding my breath just yet.

Were you as disappointed as I was with last night's episode? Did it seem like the dancers of Salt Lake City were especially overhyped? Were you surprised to see that Elle Woods has given up the law to pursue a pageant and dancing career? (And where for the love of pink was Bruiser?) Does anyone know what Mary and Michelle Stringham meant by (what sounded like) a ''Marley stage''? And if Cat's already resorting to blanket fashion shows, how long do you think it will take before she's daring dancers to bungee jump using nothing but her collection of scarves?

PREVIOUS Page 1 2 3