So You Think You Can Dance - Top 16

The top 16 put on a great show tonight on So You Think You Can Dance.  I really do think this group of 20 is one of the best this show has ever had.  Surprisingly, there is also not one dancer that I disliked immensely.  I did not like Amelia's shtick in the beginning, but so far she and Will have really clicked and I've enjoyed their dances.  The show is taking two weeks off because of the Olympics.

I immediately guessed the group routine was choreographed by Tyce, and I was right.  It was cheesy, staged-y, and showy - exactly Tyce's style.

Favorite routines

1) Witney and Chehon's contemporary from Stacey Tookey.  This was a gorgeous routine, set to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."  The story was about two people who loved each other but could not be together.  Chehon was so powerful and made all the lifts looked so easy, and Witney looked like a contemporary dancer.  Chehon referred to being able to relate to the story of impossible love and he looked so contemplative.  Now I really want to know what the story is.

2) Lindsay and Cole's jazz routine from Mandy Moore.  This was much better than last week's routine. Lindsay and Cole represented love and hate, and they really sold the routine.  Cole was intense as usual, and Lindsay actually brought the maturity needed for this routine.

3) Eliana and Cyrus's hip hop routine from NappyTabs.  This robot-and-ballerina routine clearly played to Cyrus's strength, and Eliana matched him step by step.  I do feel like Eliana hasn't been allowed to stretch to her full potential, yet, because she has Cyrus as her partner.  I like Cyrus, but he clearly has his limitations.  It reminds me of Jeanine and Phillip from Season 5 - Jeanine didn't truly soar until she made it to the top 10 and was able to dance with other partners.  If Eliana can survive to the top 10 here and get to dance with better dancers, she will be even more amazing.

Least favorite routines

1) Janelle and Dareian's cha-cha from Pasha (!).  This was terrible.  Pasha choreographed a good cha-cha, but Janelle and Dareian bombed in trying to dance it.  Dareian's ugly feet were really obvious when dancing ballroom, and Janelle looked confused instead of sexy.

2) Audrey and Matthew's salsa from Liz Lira.  Audrey and Matt tried, but this salsa was slow, plodding, and not sexy at all.  We know what it was supposed to look like from the rehearsal, and the dance was nothing like it.

Eliminations

I only picked one person correctly last week from among the girls - Lindsay.  The bottom three girls were Amber, Lindsay, and Eliana.  Amber and Eliana danced solos for the judges.  I was rooting for the judges to save Eliana and Lindsay, which they did.  I don't dislike Amber, but her attitude can be a turnoff and Lindsay and Eliana are much more interesting.

The bottom three boys were Dareian, George, and Brandon, so I got two out of three right.  I was really happy Cole was saved.  Dareian and Brandon danced solos.  I wanted Dareian to go, but the judges saved George and Dareian.  It's too bad that Brandon left - he was so entertaining and has shown that he can danced a lot of different styles.  I will miss him.

Predictions on who will be in trouble in three weeks

Girls: Janelle, Audrey, Tiffany (although I've been predicting Tiffany in the bottom 3 all three weeks, and I haven't been right so far)
Boys: Dareian, Matt, and George