So You Think You Can Dance 6/18- The Top 18 Perform and Did Someone Give Nigel Paula Abdul's Drink?

Cat looks stunning in a black cocktail dress and welcomes us to tonight. During the dance intros, Comfort, Gev, Will, and, surprisingly, Marquis are the standouts (surprising, because I have no idea who Marquis is). Cat is still mercifully not saying the word judges. The judges tonight are Mia, who is now blonde, Mary, in full cougar form, and Nigel. Mia says she thinks this season is gonna be banoodles. Awesome, awesome made up word. She also says that there’s a few dancers she’s not gonna miss. But then she says because she hasn’t connected with them. You best not be going soft on me Mia Michaels.

Chelsea and Thayne- Chelsea likes Thayne’s positive attitude, but dislikes his superstition. Thayne likes Chelsea’s positive attitude, but dislikes Chelsea’s sleepiness. They’ve got a Mandy Moore jazz routine about royalty. Mandy also makes a comment on Thayne’s superstition. Hmm. I like it. But I can’t connect to it. The choreography is interesting, but there’s something that isn’t there. It may be the lighting/editing, it may be the ridiculous outfits, it may be the footwork. There are a few beautiful moves, but something just isn’t working fully enough for me. Mia likes the concept but says it wasn’t executed. At all Mia kicks them off the Hot Tamale train. Mary agrees (or at least puts them in the caboose), and didn’t feel their chemistry this week. Nigel didn’t believe it, but places a good deal of blame on the outfits. I still think Chelsea will make the final 4.

Chelsie and Mark- Mark loves the smell of Chelsie’s hair, but sometimes she’s gets on his nerves. Chelsie loves Mark’s quirkiness, but thinks he could maybe be more upbeat. They’ve got Alex DeSilva’s Argentine Tango this week, but ballroom dancer Chelsie doesn’t really know this style. They’re very close to each other during rehearsals. I really like this, but Chelsie is, to be frank, a disappointment. She kept looking at her feet (although her toe popped out at some point, so that may explain that (plus, props if she did that with a shoe malfunction)) and she’s a little sloppy in her moves. Mark, however, is awesome (he’s another member of my predicted final 4). They’re actually really sexy too. Mia is in love with them, and calls them the most perfect, odd couple ever, calling the dance fantastical. Mary loved everything about it. They get a mini-scream. Nigel felt a real sexual tension between them, but he could have used a little more fire and passion in Chelsie; he wanted her to be sleazier. Oh, Nigel!

Sidenote: The ads for Fringe are a little misleading. I watched the pilot today (full review will be up tomorrow), and it wasn’t nearly as “things going bump in the dark” as I expected it to be.

Jessica and Will- Will likes Jessica’s personality, but doesn’t like Jessica’s personal battles. Jessica likes how focused he is, but thinks he needs to be less focused. This week, they’ve got a Cecily and Olisa hip-hop routine. Will is excited to have fun. Its… alright. The choreography seems so-so, to me. It seems more like a lot of skipping/hopping than what I think of a hip-hop dancing. Will is better than Jessica, but that’s to be expected. Mia thinks the choreography was ridiculous (in a good way) but she didn’t believe Jessica, telling her that she didn’t even seem to be on stage. Mia calls Will a genius though. Mary agrees with Mia, but also thinks Jessica wasn’t there and calls Will a force to be reckoned with. Nigel thought Jessica did a good job and predicts Will as a member of the final 4 (he doesn’t make mine).

Kourtni and Matt- Matt likes Kourtni’s eyes, but doesn’t think she has a good ear for singing. Kourtni likes that Matt always compliments her, but hates his singing. They weren’t happy with being in the bottom. They’ve got a Jean-Marc Genereaux foxtrot this week. Jean Marc doesn’t have kind words for their pre-performance. I like it, it’s very 1930s Fred Astaire (if that makes sense). Matt’s still a little stiff (and he needs to smile less), but his technique is beautiful. It reminded Mia of Hollywood elegance. She loves Matt, but thinks Kourtni is only strong when her leg is in the air. Mary loves the choreography, but thinks the rest is a mixed bag, especially in their footwork. She’s slightly disappointed, overall. Nigel wasn’t disappointed, and seemingly insults Kourtni’s weight (to which she responds “Thank you”). He thinks Matt is strong, but he’s too twee. He calls it a little fake. But he says he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Courtney and Gev- Gev thinks Courtney is pretty, but doesn’t like that she has a boyfriend. Courtney likes Gev’s work ethic, but not his height. Gev does not like dance thongs. Good to know. They’ve got a Mandy Moore contemporary routine. Mandy tells us her routine is not deep. Wow. I’m a little blown away. It’s beautiful and simplistic and they work amazingly together. These two have serious chemistry together. Mia loves Mandy’s choreography. She thinks Courtney did well, but she jazzified it too much and took too much control. Mia was really proud of Gev though. Mary loved it. Gev impressed her too (as was I). Nigel thinks they fit each other well, but he didn’t believe the emotion in the routine. He thought they danced it well, but it wasn’t there for him emotionally.

Katee and Joshua- Katee likes that Joshua is caring, but dislikes his nitpicking. Joshua loves Katee’s smile, but dislikes her awkward dance. They’ve got a Tyce Diorio Broadway routine this week, and they’ve been practicing their jazz hands. It’s cute and fun, but I’ve never been a fan of Tyce’s, and this dance ain’t changing it. Joshua is much better than Katee though. Nigel loves it to the point of dancing in the aisles, and calls it entertainment. He calls Joshua amazing and Katee a beautiful spirit. Did someone give Nigel Paula Abdul’s coke cup? Mary loves them too and says they should have a satisfaction guarantee and they get a scream and Joshua apparently goes into the tra-la-la part of Mary’s heart (Men go in, but they never come out). Mia thought it sucked. KIDDING! No, she thought it was amazing. She thinks their connection is unreal. Mia calls Joshua a force and pushes him into her top 4 (Josh was my replacement male).

Susie and Marquis- Marquis loves Susie’s energy, but dislikes her hair. Susie loves that Marquis is a goofball, but she dislikes his constant appetite. They’ve got an Alex DeSilva salsa, which is Susie’s style. Alex is teaching them in Spanish, which Marquis doesn’t speak. Doesn’t seem like the best strategy to me. Alex knocks Susie’s style, which Susie hears. Tears ensue. They’re good, but Susie is, with the exception a few moves, weak sauce. Totally not impressive. Marquis, on the other hand, kind of blows me away. He’s really good. Mia liked the choreography, but wasn’t crazy. She thinks Marquis was over-exaggerating and expected more from Susie. It didn’t quite work for Mary either, and she expected more from Susie too. Nigel was disappointed too, and thinks Marquis might have been a bad partner and their dancing was labored. I guess Marquis was a little over the top, but compared to Susie, he was pretty darn good.

Kherington and Twitch- I have these two in my final four, but Joshua could easily take Twitch’s place and Kherington’s placement is precarious too. Twitch likes Kherington’s positive attitude, but dislikes her strong legs. Kherington likes Twitch’s muscles, but doesn’t like his fake glasses. They’ve got a Jean-Marc Genereaux Viennese Waltz, inspired by Jean-Marc’s handicapped daughter. They’re beautiful and the dance is beautiful and they seem to be dancing it really well. My only complaint would be that it didn’t really feel like a waltz so much as a contemporary/waltz hybrid. And Kherington smiled a little much. Mia loves the choreography and the essence, but agrees that Kherington smiled too much (Nigel cuts in and defends her) and Mia gets bitchy at Nigel and Kherington in return. Cat asks Kherington about it and she starts to cry and they’re gonna get massive sympathy votes (Rightly so). Mia says Twitch stepped up and promises to shut her mouth. Mary thinks they were touched by angels. Nigel inappropriately cracks a joke but thinks the routine was beautiful and they danced it beautifully.

Comfort and Chris- Comfort likes Chris’ humble-ness, but dislikes his sweatiness. Chris likes Comfort’s versatility, but dislikes her fast speaking. They’ve got a Lil’ C Krump routine, which is Comfort’s style. Chris could be a trainwreck on this though. He’s not that bad, but he’s not that good either. Sadly, neither is Comfort. I was expecting a lot more from her. She could have hit things a lot harder than she did. They seem to kind of peter out by the end too. Mia is a big fan of Lil’ C, a huge fan of Comfort, and thinks Chris worked really hard this week because he pulled it off. Mary thought Comfort could have hit it a little harder and found Chris respectable. Nigel tells Chris that his granny is tougher than that performance and tells him to be butch (Chris protests Nigel’s suggestion to grab his crotch). He also expected far more from Comfort than he got. Chris tells America to only remember Mia’s comments.

My Rankings For The Night:
1) Courtney and Gev
2) Kherington and Twitch
3) Chelsie and Mark
4) Kourtni and Matt
(decent sized drop)
5) Katee and Joshua
(another decent sized drop)
6) Comfort and Chris
7) Susie and Marquis
8) Chelsea and Thayne
9) Jessica and Will

Should Be Worried: Jessica and Will will probably be making a repeat appearance in the bottom three. Marquis and Susie should start prepping solos too. I’m guessing Chelsea and Thayne will be there too, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Comfort and Chris or Kourtni and Matt there either.