DonnaK:  I’m so sorry this post is so late. I wrote most of it right after the show but needed to get some names. I saved it as closed… and then promptly forgot about it until just now. So sorry - polishing it up to reflect current changes and here it is…

This season of So You Think You Can Dance is going to be outstanding. The talent I saw throughout the auditions and in Vegas was just off the charts. I am disappointed at how many fantastic dancers they spent time featuring in Vegas only to cut them later. That time could have been better spent featuring a wider swath of people that would make it into the Top 20. There are a few dancers that were cut that surprised me, but my biggest surprises were saved for two dancers that made it into the Top 20 that I *SO* do not believe belong there.

Let’s start this off with Mollee Gray. Yes, she can dance. Yes, she’s incredibly advanced for her age. However, the judge were bang on right when they said she was simply too immature in her dancing to be in the Top 20. Watching her is like watching a 15 year old - she just doesn’t have the maturity to pull off most of the mature routines this show will throw at her. To put her in the Top 20 was a huge mistake IMHO.

WTF with Paula? Why on earth would she wait until she was on stage being told she was selected before she told the producers that she couldn’t be on the show? That move was either completely staged or Paula is truly inconsiderate. The moment she knew she was cast in a movie and could not appear on the show she should have taken herself out of the running to make room for a truly talented performer. She didn’t, and because of her actions that day, we are now stuck with Ashleigh Di Lello.

Let me make this one perfectly clear. I HATE ASHLEIGH. She is fake, plastic, annoying, clingy, jealous, abrasive, and not nearly talented enough to be in the Top 20. Yet here she is and I’m simply counting the days until I don’t have to look at her smug, arrogant, fake face anymore. Yes, she really does annoy me that damn much. I have this visceral hate reaction to her and her attitude - I just cannot stand her, and as long as she’s here I’m going to be growling at my screen in anger. *grrrrrr*

In Vegas I picked who I thought had this competition in the bag this season. Billy Bell showed himself at every turn to be far and away the best dancer this show has ever seen or had. The second they confirmed him for the Top 20 I knew he would go all the way. My heart just bout felt through the floor when I heard the news of his illness and his doctors pulling him out of the show. That is such a huge loss - I’m just hoping that the show will let him back in again next season since he technically never competed.

With Billy gone I had to rearrange my favorite picks for the boys and the girls. For the boys the first slot was easy - Russell, who I’m calling Final Four on right now. My second slot is hard - I’m torn between Jakob and Victor, but in the end I’m going to put my money on Jakob. The girls were similar - my first pick is Bianca, who I’m also calling Final Four on right now. My second favorite was again torn between two people - Karen and Ellenore, but in the end I’m going with Karen from what I’ve seen so far.

The performance show was a FANTASTIC idea - it was a tremendous way to get to know that contestants and really get a feel of how they stacked up against one another. It was this show in fact that helped me sort out my favorite for the season as the field really is so narrow and dynamic this year. I have to say I do NOT like the bigger stage - I miss the intimate setting of the old stage, especially the stairs and space in front for the dancers to utilize. Big mistake moving this to the bigger stage for the whole season - it should really be reserved for the last show.

The first elimination show was… bizarre, to say the least. To first lose Billy and then Noelle was a huge blow. Brandon, brought on to replace Billy at the literal last minute, didn’t stand a chance, and Russell was severely handicapped by having to work with two different partners in one week. I know MLB trumps SYTYCD and I see the need for the judges to make the first few eliminations, but I think they should be kept to the same rules we would be - they must nominate COUPLES, not individuals, and then choose between them. Furthermore, they should keep it to a bottom three and not two as they did that night - it’s more suspenseful and what would be occurring if baseball was not interfering with the schedule. I’ll say no more about the judging for now but I do want to wish Noelle a good a speedy recovery.

Most of the routines for the night were quite good and even in consistency and technique. Channing and Phillip did a marvelous jive, although I wish Phillip would take the tap smile off his face in other styles. Ellenore and Ryan shone in their Sonya jazz number, as did Karen and Kevin in their cha cha. My dislike of Ashleigh aside, she and Jakob did a respectable Broadway routine, although it’s easy to see that he’ll be carrying her for as long as she’s around. Mollee and Nathan’s disco was passable but lacked the fire I thought it needed, and I put that blame squarely on Mollee’s young shoulders. It was too much cuteness and not enough passion, and that’s not going to work for long.

The two standout routines of the night are my two picks for Awesome Dance of the Week. I have to say I’m really torn between the two and I’m having a huge time deciding to whom to give the award. My first nominee is Bianca and Victor’s amazing contemporary routine choreographed by Travis Wall. It was mature, captivating, elegant, and tremendously performed by both of them. It’s hard to believe Bianca’s a tap dancer when you see lines like that. My second nominee is Kathryn and Legacy’s Dave Scott helmed hip-hop number. The power and precision of that piece by both of Legacy and Kathryn was AMAZING. It may not have been the best choreography of the night, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. And it’s for that last reason - the fact that I was so taken in by the number - that I had to give the Awesome Dance of the Week Award to Kathryn and Legacy. I don’t expect Legacy to last long in this competition - he just doesn’t have the overall chops for it - but he’ll do well for a while.

Okay… time for some judge bitching. I guessed my bottom two and I was three for four on my pick. I naturally assumed that by picked Ariana that Peter would (rightly) be on the block as well. Choosing Russell was just… well… insane. Not only was he phenomenal under rotten circumstances he is easily one of the best on the show. Peter gave a far weaker performance and should have be up there, not Russell. I’m going to agree with the general populace and say the judges did it knowing they would be sending Brandon home and they wanted Russell to be able to show off his skills to anyone who had not been watching through Vegas week. It that was the ploy it worked - Russell seems to have only gained fans since that elimination show. Ariana was a good choice to go, although I would have MUCH preferred to see one of the two ladies that annoy me so much leave instead. How long are these judges going to coddle Ashleigh and Mollee? Only time will tell.

This season is definitely shaping up to be interesting, especially with the departure of my favorite choreographer in Mia Michaels. I think next week when things settle down a bit we’ll have a much better handle on how this season will play out. I’ll say one thing - with this talent, the only place to go is up.