by Kylene Hamulak

 

With just one week until we meet the Top 20, the open auditions are over, and 181 dancers meet in Vegas to compete through eight rounds to earn their spots for the season. Bring on the drama, cause Nigel is promising "major cuts"!

 

For round one, the dancers will be performing their solos for the panel. Hampton "The Excorcist" Williams is the first up, bringing the panel to tears again. After ten solos have performed, Nigel stops proceedings to cut two girls and move eight other dancers to the next round.

 

Oh. That's right. In all the celebrating, I forgot that some people aren't going to be around for long. In fact, 51 dancers are headed home after Round One.

 

Next round? Choreography, with Comfort and Twitch leading the hip hop segment, telling us all, "basically, if you're not sweating with this routine, you're not doing it right." (Sidenote: I'm sweating just WATCHING the routine.)

 

And then, in a dramatic twist (because where would reality tv be without a dramatic twist?), Hampton is on the stage explaining that he's never been choreographed before and is having a hard time picking it up. As he stands there apologizing for bowing out of the competition, the panel is in shock and thanking him for touching them all with his talent.

 

Andre, one of the Dragon House guys, is also having trouble picking up the choreography, but he's not interested in announcing it to the panel. Despite encouragement from his two housemates to at least try the routine, he leaves without saying anything to the judges. His housemate, Boris, also has difficulty, but he does try, only to be cut from the competition. The Praying Mantis and the mom with the adorable kids (don't act like you remembered their names) are also leaving the competition. Who did make it? The last Dragon House dancer, so at least they're still represented.

 

Day Two begins with Broadway and a routine about crazy dancers lusting after each other. In the first group are Lindsay and Whitney, the two young ballroom dancers from Salt Lake City, who are not only roommates, but also friends since the age of 9. "Team Ballroom", as they called themselves, start things off well, launching a long stretch of great dancers moving on to the next round.

 

Alexa Anderson, the last dancer cut in Season 8, is in the next group. Determined to make it through this time around, Alexa tells us she has learned techniques to help her improve. At the end of the routine, however, Adam tells her he's tired of saving her and wants to see her dance like she wants it and connect with her partner. And then he saves her again. Teddy Tedholm, another veteran, isn't as lucky. He, along with 23 other dancers, are cut after the Broadway Round.

 

Coming up next? The Jazz Round, choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, focusing on "strength, aggression, texture, and musicality." New Yorker Shafiq is having a lot of difficulty picking up the routine and whines that there are too many people on the stage to practice. He's partnered with Danielle (the girl who eats bacon, remember her?), who is trying her best to encourage him without much success.

 

Though Danielle makes it through, Shafiq is cut, along with Rachel (who provided a burlesque audition in Salt Lake City). She pleads her case to the panel, promising that she has enough passion to make her a star. Though it's not unanimous, she is given one more chance to dance a solo to save her spot at the end of the round.

 

Because there are more guys than girls left in the competition, Danielle comes back to the stage to partner with Giovanni. Soon after the routine begins, his kick - which is supposed to go over her head - hits her square upside the head. She's rattled and manages to complete the routine, but the panel is concerned. A short time later, the medical team checking out Danielle decides it's best to have her checked out at the hospital.

 

Amelia Lowe, who brought her silent movie shtick to her first audition, is psyched about the chance to do her jazz routine. She's onstage with Cyrus (from Dragon House) and ballroom dancer Lindsay, who makes it through to the next round. Cyrus makes it through too, but Amelia will come back to dance for her life.

 

Rachel chooses to fight for her spot using her burlesque style, dressed in a man's shirt and tie, which of course doesn't stay on for long. The panel isn't impressed - they tell her to put on more clothes and dance. Amelia gives a more traditional performance, and the crowd (and most of the judges) are mesmerized. Nigel gives her a no...but only because he's cranky that she couldn't pull out a similar performance with the choreography given to her. Doesn't matter - the other yeses are enough to put her through.

 

For this year's Group Routines, dancers have the chance to pick their own groups. After randomly picking their songs, the long night of choreographing their routines begins, and tempers flare.

 

The first group up includes Danielle, who returned after she spent 8 hours in the hospital getting checked out. She was accepted into a group, but they're unsure about how they can rework the routine. Their lack of rehearsal time showed in the routine, and Danielle is cut from the competition. She doesn't blame her injury, but it's clear that it impacted her performance. Plenty of other dancers, however, don't even have a kick in the head as an excuse for their botched routines, but she's certainly not alone as she leaves the theater.

 

"The Highschoolers" break a stretch of poor performances, impressing the judges not only with their dance, but also with the choreography and the concept, which used Aubrey, the only girl, to showcase each of the other dancers on the team. All make it through.

 

The final group to perform contains three veterans of the show - Dres, Adrian, and Alexa. Debbie loves it, but Tyce starts ripping into Alexa. She starts to cry, telling them how hard she's worked to push herself....and they're all, like, "YES!" So...they're all through.

 

It's not over yet though, as the dancers are bringing a cha cha to the Ballroom Round. Cyrus, struggling through, is among the first group of dancers, but seems pleased when he is told he'll be dancing for his life. And he was right to be pleased - lots of other dancers weren't as lucky.

One of those not as lucky? Aubrey, a stand out in the group round, is cut after her ballroom performance and is devastated. Alexa, on the other hand, has finally shown the panel her personality, and celebrates making it through along with 50 other dancers.

 

The final routine of the night, however, is Cyrus, dancing for his life. The panel loves his style and gives him the yeses he needs to move to the next round.

 

Travis Wall is leading them for their next round - Contemporary. He's looking for perfection, and nerves are shot for the dancers. The performances are beautiful, but the panel is reserving all judgment for the end of the round. As the dancers watch each other perform, there's nothing but love for their fellow competitors.

 

And then Nigel calls a 34 of them to the stage....and moves them to the next round and the final day of Vegas Week, along with a couple of the eighteen leftovers who perform one last time to dance for their lives.

 

The next day, as dancers are preparing their solos, Joshua is working on a new trick and (I literally gasped when it happened) doesn't get his flip off, appearing to hit his head on the floor. As the medics taken him away on the stretcher, he's not moving anything more than his eyelids.

Inside the theater, the solo performances begin, and the remaining dancers share with the judges their thoughts on why they want to be part of the Top 20. The standout - and final - performance comes from ballet dancer Chehon Wespi-Schopp, who did impossible things throwing his body across the stage.

 

Once the performances are done, Nigel calls the guys to the stage to go through the first round of cuts. Five guys - including both Dres and Adrian - are cut from the competition. As for the girls? All of them are through. For now, anyway.

 

At the end of Vegas week, 35 dancers remain, including our Top 20, who will perform together for the first time next week. Will your favorites make the cut?

 

 

So You Think You Can Dance airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on FOX.

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)