So You Think You Can Dance 8/1. The Top 8 Perform And Mostly Deliver

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Opening: Cat looks vaguely mermaidish tonight. Also, she doesn’t seem to know which camera to speak into. Lauren goes Flashdance. Pasha has fun. Sabra looks nice but does nothing special. Dominic reminds us he wasn’t the best breaker. Lacey does sexy ballroom. Neil does tricks and only tricks. Sara outshines Dominic. Danny twirls awesomely. Apparently, tonight we have Jee-Jees instead of judges. I have no idea what those are. Adam Shankman is back this week to join Nigel and Mary. Adam has been promoting Hairspray, which he coincidentally is doing right now as well. Adam tells Cat she looks hot, she fakes blushing. Nigel is happy with how the show is progressing, and it’s all just a lottery now regarding partners and choreographers. Cat points out that Mary is decked in diamonds for no reason.

Danny and Sara: They’ve got an Argentine tango first from Alex DaSilva, who says that he really wanted to work with Danny and Sara is icing on the cake. Apparently, there is a lot of contortion, which makes Danny nervous. This is definitely the sexiest dance of the entire season. Danny is beyond amazing, with so many freakin' pirouettes that I get dizzy watching him. He doesn’t even get fazed by all the spinning too. He pulls of masculinity well except for a little bit involving a fan at the end, something I’ve had problems with for him in the past. Sara holds her own, however her kicks seem a little uncommitted. The human pretzel move at the end is pretty freakin’ awesome as well. Adam calls it unreal, especially because he expected a mismatch. He’s so proud of Sara because she completely has banished the B-girl in her. Adam tells Danny he has the best center he’s even seen and calls him the best male dancer the show has ever seen. Mary calls Sara’s boots hot and calls the beginning out of sight. She says it diverges from an Argentine tango at the end, but doesn’t fault them for that. Nigel calls it very sexy. He wishes there was a little more in Sara’s face, but loved the human pretzel. He calls Danny’s pirouettes ridiculous, and counters that most Argentine tango dancers wouldn’t be capable where it diverges from the normal style.

Dominic and Lauren: They’re krumping first tonight, with a Lil’ C routine. Lauren is excited to have Dominic because he’s a joker. Lauren is excited to dance with Lauren because she’s hot. Dominic, always joking. At least, I’m hoping. This is, I’m not gonna lie, kind of a disaster. They’re repeatedly off beat from one another (when they’re supposed to clearly be together) and half the moves don’t feel fully executed. At one point, Lauren actually falls off of Dominic’s back and tries to cover it, albeit not very well. Dominic is clearly the better of the two, but again his face seems to take over at points and it detracts from the already lackluster performance. Adam calls it really hot, but is not sure if it showed either of them at their greatest potential. Mary says the beginning is great, but from the middle on the energy dies down. But she calls them both gangsta. Nigel thinks that Krumping is tougher than what they were doing, that it was more hip hop. Nigel makes multiple references to his British heritage. He calls it unlyrical though and another word I can’t remember. Nigel calls Lauren on falling but covering it, but calls her a true professional for covering it.

Lacey and Neil: First, they’ve got a Latin jazz routine from Maria Torres. There’s apparently, a really tough lift. They’re afraid. Very afraid. Lacey says she has faith with him. She almost maintains a straight face. If I didn’t know better, I would think they threw in moves from their contemporary here. It doesn’t quite seem to be there yet. Some of their moves look good, but the rest looks amateur. They don’t appear to be interested in each other at all, and Neil also fails to fully pull off the masculinity necessary for this. Adam makes a comment on Neil’s shirtlessness first. Adam then moves on to calling them beautiful dancers, but tells Lacey that she needs to look at her partner rather than the camera, because Neil was pretty much focused on her. Adam gives it two thumbs up at the end. Mary says that the chemistry wasn’t there at all for her, calling it forced chemistry, citing Neil on his lack of interest in her at times too. She also calls them on their poor form during the beginning. But she says there are good parts. Overall, she kind of gives it a Meh. Adam takes over and reiterates Mary’s comments. If we didn’t hear it shrilly enough the first time. Nigel loved the music and the choreography. He didn’t like either of them though, because they had no chemistry and bad technique. Nigel utters those terrible two words, Dance School. Nigel says that just because every girl screams due to Neil’s shirtlessness, doesn’t mean its good. Neil was happy with his performance and felt they had good chemistry.

Pasha and Sabra: They’ve got a Tyce Diorio Broadway routine first. I miss the pre-dance package. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t believe Tyce is a talented choreographer. The routine starts off slow, but picks up speed thankfully, because the steps aren’t good until the end. Pasha and Sabra dance them well enough, but I don’t feel overwhelming praise, if only because they were limited by the choreography. Adam says that he didn’t think he was going to like it, but he kind of did. He says this was the first time he got surprised, because they and character and overall performance. He calls Pasha great, but Sabra was a revelation. Mary says Sabra’s always a revelation, but calls Pasha as well. She loved the rolls and lifts, and can’t find anything she doesn’t love about it. Nigel says that the choreography forces them to perform, and he loves it. He calls the performance wonderful and says the reiterated why they’re there.

Sara And Danny, Take 2: This time, they’ve got a Shane Sparks hip-hop routine. Danny’s worried, because Shane was the one who was trying to keep him out of the top 20. Shane wasn’t worried about Sara, but Danny really surprised him and changed his mind. It’s good, if a little un-energetic at the end. It’s very early 90s, and, given the dancers, it is slightly disappointing. They just weren’t quite committed enough to it in my opinion. Cat admits that she loves Salt N Pepa’s “Push it”. Adam starts by saying that they were punk’d by wardrobe. He calls it a solid routine. Adam calls them the most versatile couple, but tells them to be nice to wardrobe. Mary doesn’t seem to get Adam’s wardrobe jokes. She didn’t quite like the dancing though, saying it didn’t hit it hard enough. She also says they were too cute for this. Nigel says that it didn’t quite mesh together, which was especially disappointing given that they’re in the top 8 and this is close to Sara’s style.

Lauren And Dominic, Take 2: Now it’s time for their Rumba, choreographed by Tony Meredith. Lauren doesn’t have a problem being close to Dominic. Dominic doesn’t have a problem being close to Lauren. Good for both I guess. Well, this is miles better than their krumping. It’s sexy and believable. Dominic’s face controls itself and Lauren looks really good and sexy. That being said, is it really a rumba? It doesn’t seem like one, especially considering that the song choice is an old R&B/Soul song that would lend itself better to a Mia Michael’s contemporary. Adam says that Dom’s B-boy friends should be impressed and proud, but mock him for his heels. Adam says their chemistry was great, but so ends the good news. But he says it didn’t look like a rumba, but saw a lot of posing and lines, as opposed to rumba dancing. Mary says that it wasn’t their fault that it wasn’t a rumba, but that the lines were beautiful. Mary says the actual rumbaing was a little too stiff, calling her end opinion mixed. Nigel compliments wardrobe, makes a pervy comment about Lauren’s lack of dress, and compliments Dominic about keeping his face in check. He bashes the technique a little bit, but says that the choreography made them look good. Nigel says that next week, though, things like this won’t pass because the dancers will have to be up to the choreographers level.

Lacey and Neil, Take 2: They’ve got a kickass Mia Michael’s contemporary routine, which is supposed to be about Mia Michaels and her dad reuniting in heaven. Both dancers feel like they have to get this dance right for Mia. I couldn’t agree more. It’s a beautiful and touching routine, but, and I’m going to sound like a jackass for saying this, I was kind of hoping for more. I’m so used to this absolutely breathtaking Mia Michaels routine, and this one being so personal and close to her, I was expecting balls to the wall genius and it didn’t quite deliver enough. They dance it proficiently enough I think though. Adam starts by thanking Mia for bringing something so personal and special and perpetuating true beauty in dance. He calls her unreal. Adam is so in love with what they just did. He says this will go down as one of the great dance performances on television. Adam calls them both beautiful and compliments their technique. Mary draws a heart, points to them and Mia, and appears to be crying. Apparently she’s going through a personal time as well, so we skip her comments. Nigel reiterates that Mia was nominated for an Emmy. Nigel says he’s so pleased to be on a show with this choreography. Nigel says that the magic lies in that they danced like no one was watching. He says he’s hugely touched and calls it one of the most beautiful things he’s seen ever. Neil and Lacey both seem to genuinely thank Mia for the choreography. They should be, because this piece just guaranteed they’ll both be around next week.

Sabra and Pasha, Take 2: The last dance of the night is a Tony Meredith quickstep. Apparently it’s very fast. I never would have guessed. Sabra admits to being confused and tripping a lot. They’re both determined though. This is my favorite routine of the night. Everything just kind of came together for me. Their costumes were awesome, the song was awesome, and most importantly, their dancing was awesome. My only complaint would be that Pasha appeared to be dragging Sabra around the stage at times. Adam also says awesome repeatedly, loves the costumes, and compliments the choreography. He loved the use of the stage, and the highs and lows of the piece. Sabra freaks him out because she’s so good. She’s Adam’s girl apparently. Adam bows down. Mary says that that was a very difficult routine and they tore it up and they make Mary tear up. She loved both of their technique and calls Sabra a butterfly. Nigel says that it was the perfect piece to come after Mia’s emotional piece, and thinks their talent was brilliant and their use of the stage was great. He calls them the best couple of the night. Sabra says that the quickstep was her biggest fear, and she’s pleased that she was able to do it, and thanks Pasha for helping her through it.

Over the closing, every gathers around Dominic as he displays some actually awesome B-boy spinning. It was pretty freaking cool.

My Ranking of the Routines:
1) Sabra and Pasha- Quickstep
2) Danny and Sara- Argentine Tango
3) Lacey and Neil- Contemporary
4) Lauren and Dominic- Rumba
5) Danny and Sara- Hip Hop
6) Sabra and Pasha- Broadway
7) Lacey and Neil- Latin Jazz
8) Lauren and Dominic- Krumping