So You Think You Can Dance - Top 8

Now the show is getting really good.  Last night was one of the best nights of dancing I've seen this season, and the top 8 really stepped it up.  Jesse Tyler Ferguson was back as a guest judge, and he was great as usual.  It's clear he is a big fan of the show and has watched it from the beginning, so although he doesn't have the dance expertise, I think he's a much better guest judge than some of the dance experts that clearly had not watched the show (*cough* the Ballet Boyz *cough*)

The group number was choreographed by a new choreographer, Peter Chu, who was a competitive gymnast and cheerleader, and studied at Juilliard.  He has his own foundation, chuthis.  The group number was pretty entertaining, and I hope he comes back.

Favorite routines

1) Chehon and Anya's tango from Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo.  I got chills watching this dance, and felt like a voyeur looking into a very private moment.  Anya is amazing as usual, and this dance really took advantage of Chehon's amazing posture.  These two had great chemistry as well.  Chehon wasn't perfect technically, but the whole package was still fantastic.

2) Cole and Allison's contemporary from Sonya Tayeh.  Cole was appropriately creepy, and Allison is great as usual.  Cole is definitely better off in dark, creepy dances rather than happy ones like last week's cha-cha or the dentist routine from a few weeks back.  Some of the moves in this piece were crazy, like when Allison went upside down, or when Cole lifted her up with just one arm.  Plus Bjork and Sonya are just a match made in heaven. 

Least favorite routines

1) Lindsay and Alex's jazz from Sonya Tayeh.  The dance itself is fine and they danced it well, but they lacked the chemistry necessary for this dance to work. 

2) Melanie and Cyrus's jazz from Mandy Moore.  I love Melanie, and unfortunately she outshines Cyrus in this piece.  It's a very cute piece, and I actually like the fact that Mandy Moore is willing to do fun, happy jazz and contemporary dances instead of just dark, creepy ones, but Melanie is totally the star here. 

Solos - from my favorite to least favorite

Boys:

1) Cyrus
2) Cole
3) Chehon
4) Will

Girls:

1) Eliana
2) Lindsay
3) Tiffany
4) Witney

Eliminations

I was right that Witney and Lindsay ended up in the bottom two this week, and it was no surprise that Lindsay was booted out.  Witney stands out more than Lindsay, and she also has more of the sex appeal.

I was right that Cole was in the bottom, but was shocked that Will also made it to the bottom.  Poor Will - I really enjoy his dancing and he did well tonight in the hip-hop piece from Christopher Scott, but his solo was the the least entertaining among the boys.  With Will gone, Tiffany is the last contemporary dancer standing.

Predictions on who will be in trouble next week

Girls: Witney and Tiffany
Boys: Cole and Chehon

Only three weeks until the finale!