"So You Think You Can Dance" (Week 4) recaplet: Shirtless rolling on a bed edition

Since I'll be lying on the beach in P'Town avoiding every clap of thunder (among other things clapp related) and every drop of rain projected to hit the Cape this weekend, I won't be able to watch the elimination episode of So You Think You Can Dance and write up a combined performance/elimination blog about it for Friday morning. That means today's recaplet will be a little shorter than last week and I'll be asking for your feedback as to who should go home this week. Audience participation is always more fun anway, right?

Week 4 Judges: The always loveable and adorable Napoleon (oh yeah and his wife Tabitha), the ultra-screamy Mary Murphy and the increasingly stick-up-the-arsed Nigel Lythgoe.

For some reason, someone decided it would be a good idea to torture the dancers as well as the audience by making each couple perform two dances in one night. No, this is not uncommon for the show but it is uncommon at this stage of the game when there are still 7 couples left to compete. It makes for far too much dancing and far too little pre-performance video which I'm a big fan of. Don't get me wrong, it was great seeing the dancers do their thang but I missed seeing the personality and more importantly the hardcore spills that come from rehearsal footage.

Shirtless Will and Jessica

Will Wingfield and Jessica King:
First Dance: Jive by Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin First off, as inappropriate as it is, the booty on Will is driving me crazy ... if I wore pants like his would my flat bottom look as bubbly and delicious? All I really remember from this routine was a backflip pull thru that Jessica did and I only remember that because I wrote down that it was banoodles (yes, I'm still trying to make banoodles the new bananas). For the first time all season Jessica was a standout! Mary talked about missed connections but I was honestly fooled and wowed by the routine. Damn, they're Jessica haters. We get it, you love Will; Jessica is the new Matt.

Second Dance: Lyrical Jazz by Mandy Moore Props! I love props! Why do certain types of girls look really good in old men's shirts? The routine was amazing and Will dragged her from one end of the stage to the other wrapped in that old shirt. Surely he gave her rug burn, which I'm certain was not her first time, I kid ... I kid! Note to the producers: Don't put the stunning shirtless boy in the background, we need to see that glory front and center! Their lifts were great and overall the routine was passionate and kinda dirty.

Now its time for our least favorite segment of the show ...

THE MOST HOMOPHOBIC REMARK OF THE WEEK: Courtesy of the toothy Brit at the Judges table who asked for a show of hands from the audience to see who wanted to dance with Will. When nearly the entire place went nuts, Nigel said to young William: "Will there were almost more girls than guys that had their hands up so I think you're okay." What the hell is that, Nigel? On a show about dance with a gay audience not to mention past and future contestants, that's a really ignorant comment to make. He's getting a letter from my hand raising gay loving self, toot sweet!

Comfort and Thayne channel Tony and Maria

Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson
First Dance: Broadway by Andy Blankenbuehler Instantly, I'm feeling a little biased because I heart West Side Story and hearing "Cool" is kinda-sorta blinding me to any imperfections the routine may have had. Thayne was simply perfect for this performance and seriously, who wasn't blown away by Comfort's classy and sultry take on Broadway? The girl is a hardcore hip-hopper and you wouldn't know it by the way she was all Cha Cha DiGregorio on that stage! This was one of the best Broadway routines all season ... but like I said, I'm a little biased.

Second Dance: Smooth Waltz by Dave Foley look-alike Edward Simon Comfort was so calm, still and beautiful ... I never knew she had such passion and beauty in her. Thayne was the quintessential dapper dan this week and while he's not SYTYCD TV Boyfriend material, he's making his way into my heart. It was like a beautiful painting come to life and I'm shocked and how great this new partnership has become!

Is it after labor day because those outfits are heinous

Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame -
First Dance: Hip-Hop by Cicily and Olisa The routine starts with Matt doing some Michael Jackson moves; what's up, Smooth Criminal? Kourtni's outfit is a little Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez for my taste so I'm all sorts of distracted and wondering why she doesn't have a condom covering her, well ... left eye. They got creamed by the Judges and for the routine being too slow. It was and they deserved it all because let's be honest, it was no Ivan and Allison "Crazy Love" umbrella routine from Season 2.

Second Dance: Mambo by Alex DaSilva I know nothing about a Mambo except that it goes with Italiano - but to my very untrained eye, they were anticipating each other a little too much and to be honest it seemed a little all over the place. I want to love these two so much more than they allow me to. Remember when they were the fan faves back in Week 1? Times they are a changin' ...

Chelsie and Mark get physical

Chelsie Hightower and Mark Kanemura -
First Dance: Jazz by Mandy Moore Got to work in some of Mark's quirky bird moves but really the best part of the routine is realizing that I'm head over heels for Mark. He's simply adorable and the boy has talent coming out of his ass. He's phenomenal and I love that while he was so manly and powerful last week, this week he was a little 80's gay glam but it worked. Chelsie, still making me love her. 1st Mary Scream of the night!

Second Dance: Fox-Trot by Edward Simon The routines was performed to "It's My Life" by Paul Anka and I hate to admit this but ... was Anka's version the original or was he covering Bon Jovi? Regardless, I love love loved the music and the routine! I wrote down that there was really "nothing to say." That's how fantastic I thought it was. Mark is so versatile and Chelsie just continues to amaze me each week. Mary said he held his carriage well tonight; let me tell ya, he can hold my carriage any night. HELLO! I think I'm officially making Mark Kanemura my SYTYCD Season 4 TV Boyfriend!

Obviously the gayest image of the night (Twitch and Kherington)

Kherington Payne and Twitch -
First Dance: Paso Doble by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin Twitch-ador was full of passion galore tonight! After a rough opening, they got down and dirty with their bad selves. It was fast punk-rock Paso Doble and I can't say it was one of my faves. Y'all know I love me some Twitch and the boy's body is beyond sick but I had a hard time getting past that hideous goucho vest thing he was wearing. Honey, if they do a remake of The Warriors you're all set but otherwise, lose the vest.

Second Dance: Contemporary by Mia Michaels Hands down the best routine of the season to date! Mia Michaels is a nuttier than Chinese chicken salad but the girl knows how to make my heart melt season after season. I forgot my name and wet myself after Twitch did his shirtless Jesus crucification pose there in the beginning ... I needed a moment. Just as I was thinking, "eh, who needs Kherington?" she came into the routine as the ghost of relationships past and blew me away! Both dancers were frakkin' awesome and this number was seriously one of the most passionate, moving routines to ever come from Mia Michaels' crazy head. It was sad and powerful, haunting and sexy ... you can't go wrong with that number or with backing Twitchington.

Katee and Joshua doing Contemporary

Katee Shaen and Joshua Allen -
First Dance: Contemporary by Mia Michaels The routine was supposed to be simple, showcasing two different lives coming together and when they needed to thrust and throw themselves around each other in a seizure fit of lust and chaos they were hands down crazy amazing together. Sadly, unless they were intertwined, fighting each other or catching air, I felt like they were missing each other. That dive through? BANOODLES! The assisted run, all sorts of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Second Dance: West Coast Swing by Benji Schwimmer (Season 2 Winner) Usually Benji is a total camera hog but given the shortened pre-performance videos we only had to deal with 30 seconds of spotlight stealing instead of the typical 90 seconds. Can I ask a question? Which straight mormon swing dancer has the gayest little Legally Blonde dog named Patty that wears a pink tutu? Anyone? Please ... I abso-hated this routine; It was slow and the choreography was not what I expected from someone of Benji's talents. Oh and those Patty inspired Peptoutfits, hid-e-ous!

Courtney and Gev get geek chic in NYC

Courtney Galiano and Gev -
First Dance: Hip-Hop by Cicily and Olisa I could do without the Marky Mark-inspired outfits. Unless some exposed Calvin's are being whipped out, there's no need to dress like that on national television. Surprisingly, Courtney was killing that routine, who knew? Sure she was a little poppy but overall she was hardcore. I expected so much more from Gev which is really disappointing because that was his genre. I wanted more!

Second Dance: Broadway by Andy Blankenbuehler This was supposed to be an homage to tourism in New York City and all about the ADHD involved with stepping out in the city for the first time. To me it was nothing but the same thing over and over again: "Look over there, wow it's King Kong". "Is that the new Beckham underwear ad, yowza" and nothing else. I was bored, it seemed sloppy and if I'm being completely honest the best thing was their technocolored dream clothes. Maybe I was just beat down after 14 performances, who knows?

To watch all of this week's video performances head on over to my TV Blog (Ducky Does TV), where you'll also find my So You Think You Can Dance Podcast!

Whew, now that we've covered all 14 dances, it's time to predict which guy and which gal are going home tonight. My gut tells me that Matt and Kourtni (Mattni, not to be confused with backne) will finally get the axe. After having been in the Bottom 3 every week of the competition, I can't imagine they'll survive another week. It's your turn to vote...