by Lindsay Strouse

How are we only one week away from the finale?! It seems like this season of So You Think You Can Dance just flew by, as we’re already down to our Top 6 dancers. I’m disappointed to not see Jess among them, but there’s no denying every single person on that stage is phenomenal.

Joining Mary and Nigel on the judging panel tonight are actress Christina Applegate and word-meister Lil’ C. After a quick announcement about National Dance Day this past weekend, we get right into the performances. Each dancer performs two routines and a solo, here’s how they did:

Dancers: Melanie and Twitch (all-star)
Style: Hip Hop
Choreographer: Nappytabs
Song: “Roman’s Revenge” by Nicki Minaj
Meet Little Red Swagginhood (aka Melanie). Did she live up to the name? I think we both know the answer to that—this girl can do it all. This piece was hip-hop in all its raw, savage beauty. Twitch is one hard partner to keep up with in this style, but Melanie had him on a leash by the end of the performance. Lil’ C thought she started off a bit shaky in the beginning, but really got into the groove by the chorus.

Dancers: Sasha and Kent (all-star)
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
Song: “Fool of Me” by Me’Shell Ndegeocello
We’ve all seen the concept with the couple who has hit a wall in their relationship. But Tyce does something interesting by having them dance the entire piece in front of a physical wall. While the prop is simple enough, they do some incredible lifts and tricks that add something magical to the dance (so magical that even Lil’ C let a few tears drop). Christina Applegate puts it perfectly: “There have been girls in this competition that have pirouetted for days and kicked their legs behind their head…and I don’t care. You put your finger against a wall and you break my heart.”

Dancers: Marko and Jeanette (all-star)
Style: Pasa Doble
Choreographer: Dmitry Chaplin
Song: “Zorongo” by Antonia Gomez, Ely “La Gambita”
Mary Murphy thought Marko completely nailed his pasa doble, a style many people often misunderstand. Though he lost his footing a little bit, his technique generally fit the style. However, the piece left Nigel feeling slightly cold, and I can’t say I disagree. I didn’t feel the passion and I’m not sure America is going to remember this piece when they go to pick up the phone tonight.

Dancer: Ricky
Song: “After Tonight” by Justin Nozuka

Dancers: Tadd and Ellenore (all-star)
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Song: “The Gulag Orkestar” by Beirut
This actually reminded me a lot of the piece Ellenore did during her season with Jakob. And you know what? It was great then, and it was great reinvented tonight. Nigel thought it was a bit short and could use a bit more “dancing.” Despite the few critiques the judges had for Tadd, they echo the same comment they’ve been saying for weeks. He is a B-BOY…how the heck is he pointing his toes so naturally and picking up such difficult choreography so well?! For that, he leaves me in awe.

Dancer: Caitlynn
Song: “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” by Katie Thompson

Dancers: Ricky and Jaimie (all-star)
Style: Contemporary
Choreographer: Dee Caspery
Song: “Inside These Lines” by Trend Dabbs
Dee Caspery has been one of my favorite choreographers this season—he has the ability to create such beautiful lines and stories and work perfectly with his dancers’ strengths. Lil C’ spits out a jumble of words (I believe magnificently magical was included in the phrase) praising Ricky’s outstanding dancing while maneuvering with sticks as props. The only critique they had for Ricky was to make his intentions a bit more clear.

Dancer: Tadd
Song: “We Speak No Americano” by Yolanda B Cool and Dcup

Dancer: Sasha
Song: “Teeth” by Lady Gaga

Dancers: Caitlynn and Pasha (all-star)
Style: Samba
Choreographer: Dmitry Chaplin
Song: “Drop it Low” by Kat DeLuna
Pasha is the ultimate all-star—he’s been everywhere this season! But onto Caitlynn…wowza. She completely dropped her innocent-happy-go-lucky smile for a wonderfully sultry and sexy samba. Mary had nothing but good things to say about Caitlynn. The one critique she got from the judges was to not force a “sexy face.” Lil’ C told her to “swan dive” into her emotions, not “cannon ball” into them.

Dancer: Marko
Song: “Wonderful World” by James Morrison

Dancer: Melanie
Song: “Cracks” by Freestylers

Dancers: Sasha and Ricky
Style: Waacking
Choreographer: Kumari Suraj
Song: “Schoolin’ Life” by Beyonce
This is the first waacking number we’ve ever seen on So You Think You Can Dance, and it was really great to see on the stage. The precision was on point, and considering both dancers were completely out of their style, it was really impressive to watch. The judges make sure it is known that they liked Sasha better than Ricky, however, it was still a really fun piece overall.

Dancers: Melanie and Tadd
Style: Broadway
Choreographer: Spencer Liff
Song: “Where Do I begin” by Shirley Bassey
I’m naming this my favorite piece of the evening. Nigel compliments Melanie for not only being the original beast of the competition, but also for being a fabulous actress. About 75% of the compliments were directed toward Melanie (and her beyond incredible solo…seriously, YouTube it), but it really should be noted how great Tadd was in this piece as well. Both dancers worked really well together and produced a truly memorable performance.

Dancers: Caitlynn and Marko
Style: Jazz
Choreographer: Sonya Tayeh
Song: “Heavy in Your Arms” by Florance + The Machine
And that’s how you close a show, ladies and gentlemen! Standing ovation from the judges. Watch out for Lil’ C’s twitter tonight, because this was “double hashtag buck” (that’s a really, really good thing). This is what we’ve all been waiting for from Caitlynn—she completely broke out of her shell and was absolutely outstanding. I lied, THIS is my favorite piece of the evening.

I don’t know how America’s going to do it, so make sure to watch So You Think You Can Dance tomorrow night at 8/7c on FOX to find out which four dancers are making it into the finale.

(Image courtesy of FOX)

Follow Lindsay on Twitter @LindsayStrouse