So You Think You Can Dance - Top 10

The All-Stars are back on So You Think You Can Dance, and for the most part they really elevated the dancing of the top 10. 

My favorite part was seeing Alex Wong back on stage.  He has bulked up since his days competing on the show, and he is still an amazing dancer.  Mr. Y and I were talking about how crazy it is that he's back as an all-star after just three dances on the show, two of which were instant classic. 

Benjamin Millepied, better known as Mr. Natalie Portman and the choreographer for the movie Black Swan, was the guest judge.  He knew what he was talking about and had some great technically comments, but it was clear he was not that familiar with the dancers.  He choreographed an interesting piece for the L.A. Dance Project near the end of the show. 

The group number was choreographed by Tyce, who also danced in it because Cole was slightly injured.  Mr. Y and I were afraid that Cole would have to withdraw from the competition, so it was relief to know that he was only slightly injured.  Tyce was a much better dancer than choreographer, although seeing Eliana front and center was great. 

Favorite routines

1) Eliana and Alex's contemporary from Stacey Tookey.  Eliana really elevated her dancing when she got to dance with a worthy partner.  Not that Cyrus wasn't fun, but he clearly was not in the same league as Eliana dance-wise.  This piece was fantastic from start to finish - haunting and beautiful, and the two dancers fit each other perfectly.  Easily the best dance of the night.

2) Tiffany and Brandon's disco from Doriana Sanchez.  I thought this routine was fast and fun, and those lifts were crazy.  Tiffany has been the stealth front-runner this season - she wasn't featured much in the auditions round and was mistaken for Audrey in the beginning, but she had never been in the bottom and had consistently danced very well (despite my constant predictions that she'll be in the bottom three because she wasn't as well-known as the other dancers).  I have always loved the way Brandon danced, and he was again fantastic in this routine.

Least favorite routines

1) Chehon and Lauren's hip hop from Dave Scott.  I normally like Dave Scott's routines, but both of his pieces tonight were not that great.  This one was slow and in all the wrong ways.  Chehon tried, but he was way out of his element.  Good thing he had that amazing solo when it turned out that he was in the bottom two.

2) Audrey and Twitch's hip hop from Dave Scott.  Another misfire from Dave Scott tonight.  The routine was just weird, and Audrey was so out of her element that I eventually gave up trying to watch her and watched Twitch instead.  Even Twitch couldn't do much with this piece.

Eliminations

I didn't realize they're only doing the bottom two this week, because I had originally predicted the bottom three.  I only got one girl right - Audrey, and she was also the one eliminated.  I was surprised Witney ended up in the bottom two as well, and I'm glad the judges saved her.  She had been one of the most interesting dancers, and her jazz routine tonight with Nick Lazzarini was excellent. 

The two guys who were in trouble were Chehon and George, which I also predicted last week.  I thought George was a goner, although he gave it a good fight with the best solo I've ever seen from him.  Chehon's solo, though, was much better.  George had been in the bottom a couple of times before, so he wasn't surprised that he was eliminated. 

Predictions on who will be in trouble next week

Girls: Witney and Lindsay
Boys: Cole and Chehon