by David McAlpine
 

Last night on So You Think You Can Dance, Kayla and Kupono tested their skills as a new couple with a Viennese Waltz routine and the top 16 performers jockeyed to stay out of the bottom three thanks to your votes.

The show starts off with a hip-hop and cha-cha infused dance to a remix of "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" by Pitbull (one of my current favorites, I must say), co-choreographed by Dance alum Dmitry Chaplin and Tabitha and Napoleon. The crowd loves it, I love it, Cat loves it, we're all happy...for now.

Before we get to the axing (which Cat makes it clear for the 8th time she doesn't like), Cat introduces us to our...judges! Nigel turns to a very serious mood by addressing the recent deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, all of which have truly shocked the country. Nigel says that he started dancing because of Michael Jackson, then he introduces Michael Jackson's video, "Thriller," saying it changed the face of dancing forever.

Now, on with the show. The first five couples on stage are Asuka and Vitolio, Janette and Brandon, Randi and Evan, Jeanine and Phillip, and Melissa and Ade. Asuka and Vitolio took a step out of their element with a jazz routine, which you could tell the judges liked, but didn't absolutely love. Words like "potential" and "maybe" were thrown around, and America agreed, putting them in the bottom two. Janette and Brandon rocked it with a hip hop fusion routine that had the judges loving it--and America, since they're the first couple safe this week. Randi and Evan took a swing at a Mia Michaels routine, focused mainly on her butt. In the words of Cat, "the butt made the cut," putting them through to the next round.

Jeanine and Phillip stepped way out of their element with a Broadway dance, which drew a lot of criticism from the judges, especially towards Phillip. Luckily for them, America chose to keep them for next week, too. Taking on a rumba, Melissa and Ade had Mary screaming and Nigel gushing over their technical prowess. America also opted to save them, leaving room for only one more couple on the side of the stage.

The final three couples, Caitlin and Jason, Karla and Jonathan, and newly-formed Ashley and Kupono step out on stage. Karla and Jonathan also attempted a hip hop routine, with less success than Janette and Brandon. Nigel even bet the audience that they would be in the final three, which turns out to be right, as Karla and Jonathan are put in the bottom three. Caitlin and Jason performed a strong paso doble that seemed to get lukewarm comments from the judges. Ashley and Kupono, on the other hand, got Mary to yell for a Viennese waltz, which she apparently never does.

After the vote, America was yelling with Mary, as they voted Ashley and Kupono into next week. Mary tries to spin the negative into a positive by making it a "celebration of dance." Toni, the guest judge, comes off as super white when she tries to describe what she found wrong with Karla and Jonathan's hip hop routine, which Nigel so kindly pressure her to explain. For the cultural dance this week, the performers had Cat freaking out before the music even started. How they represented a different "world of dance" is beyond me, but a hip-hop troupe of pre-teen and teenage boys called the "Rage Boys Crew" took the stage and brought the house down (as well as Cat).

Asuka is up first with her solo to "Don't Trust Me" by 3Oh!3. The quality of her solo seems to have dropped dramatically from 2 weeks ago, which puts her in serious danger considering ballroom solos aren't that great to begin with. Next up is Vitolio, dancing to "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay." His personality and desire to be in the challenge shines through with every jump and movement. After him is Kayla, dancing to "15 Step" by Radiohead. Kayla's solo is not only fun to watch, but technically wonderful, which may make up for her performance last night.

Jonathan is next and shows us what a real ballroom solo is supposed to look like. His dance to "The Hunted" by Kodo is full of energy and, like Kayla, I think may have bought him another week. Caitlin is next, dancing to "Que Sera Sera" by Jennifer Terran. Her solo is slightly better than Asuka's, but still, I think it's between the two as to who goes home. Last but not least is Jason, dancing to "New American Classing" by Taking Back Sunday. His lines are really nice and he moves very well, but it doesn't seem like anything special to me. At this point, I think that it'll probably be Asuka and Jason going home, but we'll see.

While the judges deliberate, The Veronicas perform their new hit, "Take Me on the Floor." Not going to lie, glad I had DVR for this one.

The girls decision is first, which is unanimous. Nigel tells Caitlin that she's obviously growing in her confidence as a dancer and that she flat out gave the best solo tonight. Shocked, she walks to the side as Nigel addresses Karla. According to Nigel, she seemed desperate in her movements and didn't seem very strong. Nigel thinks Asuka is an exciting performer, but the judges don't think that she's growing in the competition, thus they decided Asuka is going home.

Next up are the guys, for whom the decision is not unanimous tonight. Vitolio is up first, who Nigel says is holding back and it's delivering what it seems like he's promising. Nigel tells Jonathan that the judges thought that his solo was full of gymnastics, but not enough dancing. Nigel thought Jason's routine was also full of desperation and though that he was holding back, too. Jason is the first declared safe, and Nigel tells the either two that neither is strong enough to remain in the competition on their own. With that said, the judges eliminate Jonathan (you know the other ballroom dancer...talk about equality, pfft).

So Asuka and Jonathan are, very unfortunately, headed home, meaning Karla and Vitolio are your newest couple. How will they perform, as well as the rest of the top 14? Tune in to FOX on Wednesday at 8/7c to the So You Think You Can Dance performance show and see!

(Image courtesy of FOX)

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