"So You Think You Can Dance" (Week 6) recaplet: Broken ribs and gay appreciation

It's been a very interesting week for the kids on So You Think You Can Dance. Monday it was announced that Top 10 contestant Jessica King was stepping down from the competition for medical reasons and that last week's eliminated hoofer Comfort Fedoke was being brought back in to replace her!  What?  That's crazy talk!  It was Tanya Harding in the green room with the lead pipe. I'm just sayin'...

Also on Monday, our very own Michael Jensen bombarded Executive Producer and Judge Nigel Lythgoe about the representation of gays on the show which may or may not have led to an on air shout-out to two gay choreographers. 

There's a ton to cover so let's jump right into Wednesday night's performance episode first.

The Host with the most, Ms. Cat Deeley (who was robbed of an Outstanding Host Emmy nod) starts things off by introducing Jessica King who tells us all that she broke two ribs and injured a third so she can't dance for at least 4 weeks but will be better in time for the tour.  Mind you, she's wearing the tightest eggroll of a dress and strutting across the stage with sass and ease which makes me wonder if she's faking it.  Can we get an investigative reporter on this?

For those of you that might be new to the show, once the competition hits the Top 10 things start to get a little more interesting.  Not only are the styles of dance chosen from a hat, but so are the couplings.  To add a little more drama to the show, starting this week each contestant will also be performing solos.  Right about now is when I need Debbie Allen to come in and do some inspirational speech about how this is where the kids start paying for fame ... in sweat!

This week's Judges: Lil C, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe

Courtney and Joshua rhumba me to sleep

Courtney Galiano and Joshua Allen
First Routine: Hip-Hop by Dave Scott  How hilarious was it to see little adorable Courtney trying to pop while also trying to act like the Bride of Spankenstein?  Let me tell you, that was a surprisingly hot number!  Who knew necrophilia could be so sexy?  This was one of my favorite routines all season which I know I say a lot but this time I really mean it!  I've missed having Choreographer Dave Scott around, he's a genius.  I think this is the first time Joshua's been sexual at all on stage and it bothers me because I like to think of him as this little Teddy Bear.  Did you catch that crazy head knocking (check out the vid if you don't know what I'm talking about)?  It was banoodles!  Yes, banoodles is back!

Second Routine: Rhumba by Jean-Marc Generaux  Joshua brought the sexy in their first routine and this time around ... not so much.  The sexiest part of the routine was when Joshua got a face full of Courtney's Galiano.  Ms. Jackson if you're nasty!  Eh, this routine didn't do much for me.  Next...

Kherington and My Boyfriend Mark are 'Staying Alive'

Kherington Payne and Mark Kanemura
First Routine: Country Two-Step  This is the first time that the two-step has graced the stages of SYTYCD and I was so excited ... until I actually saw it.  It was tough for the dancers to keep their energy up and the degree of skill needed was pretty high (from my untrained eye). I'm all about switching things up style-wise but this didn't work for me.  I was disturbed by choreographer that was preggers; seriously I kept waiting for that demon spawn to spill out onto the floor at any minute and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  Sadly that kid stayed put, which I guess in the end is a good thing.  How adorable was Mark in that cowboy outfit?  Assless Chaps would have been a better choice but I'm no stylist so... 

Second Routine: Jazz by Tyce Diorio  Could Tyce's sweatpants be baggier in that rehearsal footage?  The dance was fun and very 80's and all but I kept wondering if they deliberately stole John Travolta's outfit from Staying Alive.  Where's Finola Hughes when we need her?  My BF Mark was in the doghouse for this semi-boring routine and I wrote a note to myself: "Must.Dial.To.Save.Him.Now."  Then I forgot to vote, whoopsy!

Twitch and Comfort in the year 2085

Comfort Fedoke and Twitch
First Routine: Smooth Waltz by Hunter Johnson  I was dying to see these two hip-hoppers attempt a romantic waltz and keep a straight face because there was no way this was going to come off anything but corny.  Here's how my random notes went: "Can we talk about the size of Twitch's hand?  You know what they say: Big hands equal big ... oh I know they're not dancing to Journey!  No they didn't!"  Overall, these two kids did their best given their backgrounds as hip-hop dancers but this was far from a Top 10 performance. 

Second Routine: Hip-Hop by Dave Scott  Dave said it was supposed to be Studio 54 in the year 2085.  You can spin it any way you want as long as you keep spinnin' it, kid!  Twitch and Comfort slayed the competition with this number.  That's what hip-hop done right looks like, folks: Amazing!  The only way I could have loved this number more was if in the background somewhere, Ryan Phillippe and Breckin Meyer were making out. 

Katee and Will bend and bulge

Katee Shean and Will Wingfield
First Routine: Broadway by Tyce Diorio  Let me just say this - taking the two most trained dancers on the show and giving them a super high energy Broadway number was a risky move.  I had high hopes for these two and while the crowd and the Judges went crazy I thought it was just okay at best.  I wanted more energy and more complexity from not only the dancers but from Tyce.  In the immortal words of Randy Jackson: "It was just okay for me, dawg."

Second Routine: Pas de Deux by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden  Thankfully they are not forcing Will and Katee to go the traditional ballet route with their Pas de Deux because I don't need to see Katee snap her ankles off.  I can't believe I'm going to say this but Will needs to put his shirt on.  I'm over the kid showing us his perfect body.  Whatever dude, if I were a dancer I'd have that body too so don't be getting all flaunty flaunt on us week after week because I'll forget to vote for you, Mr. Wingfield.  That being said, hot damn!  Did anyone else notice that Katee couldn't make a critical turn through Will's bulging bicep toward the end which then never allowed them to got their mojo back?  I guess even the mighty have to fall.  I'm ridiculously fickle sometimes.

Let's take a quick break from the competition to talk about The Gayest Moment of the Night: As I mentioned in the intro, Nigel took a minute (during someone's critique no less) to salute out choreographer Desmond Richardson and his partner Dwight Rhoden for being one of the greatest modern ballet dancers in the world.  It was kind and well deserved but I couldn't help wonder if this had anything to do with AfterElton taking him to task for the portrayal of gays on SYTYCD and American Idol.  What do you guys think?   

Chelsie and Gev struggle to stay in the competition

Chelsie Hightower and Gev Manukian
First Routine: Contemporary by Sonya Tayeh  Sinead O'Jane Child (Tayeh) is quickly becoming one of my favorite choreographers.  This routine had me thinking of marionettes and circus acts, Dirty Dancing and sex and awesomeness and ... I can't pinpoint why I loved this contemporary number but it had to have had something to do with Gev's incorporated breakin' brilliance.  I rewatched the number four times and I still can't put my finger on why I adore it, I just do.

Second Routine: Jive by Jean-Marc Generaux  Nascar, lawn mowers, sowing machines, horse poop ... what the hell kind of routine has J-MG created for these two?  Go watch the video and tell me if they didn't cut away from Gev in the beginning because his slide stopped short and he probably fell ass over kettle.  The dance had Gev on the run and his legs were all over the place and I was uncomfortable watching Gev blow it so hard (wait, what).  A major disappointment.

You probably think we're done, don't you?  Shockingly, there's more.  Each dancer also performed a solo routine in their own style of dance.  The only reason I welcome this addition this week is because it gives us a chance to see someone other than the usual suspects that have littered the Bottom 3 for the past few weeks.  I'll quickly run down their solos.

• I almost forgot that Chelsie is a trained Latin/Ballroom trained dancer.  While she's no Lacey Schwimmer sex show revue, she's wonderful to watch.

• Gev's solo was crazy good.  I love watching breakers because I'm certain that each and every time one of them does a head spin that they're going to snap their neck.  It's a sick hope that one day I'll actually witness it, like how when I'm strolling down the beach I'm certain I'll one day come across my very own Laura Palmer wrapped in plastic.  The mind does what it wants to do, folks!

• Courtney's lyrical/contemporary number was what we've come to expect and in my case, love from contemporary soloists on the show over the past few seasons.  There's a lot of slamming the body onto the floor as well as a serious over emoting.  That being said, it was fraktastic and that girl isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

• My BF Mark's solo was exactly what I needed from him this week.  It was a return to the quirky bird boy we fell in love with six weeks ago.  He's eccentric, he's emotional, he's adorable and boy is he limber.  His style is so different than the others, he truly feels every word, every beat and every emotion the music conveys and brings it alive on stage.  It's a rare gift and my boo possesses it!  Jealous much?

• Comfort doing a solo?  Now that's something we haven't seen every Thursday for the last six weeks.  She's great at doing her thing but much like last week, I'm over it.

• Twitch's solo is hilarious because it's dead on with Wade Robson's music and his homemade Superman/Twitchman shirt was killing me.  Damn that boy can move.

• Katee's solo was also a welcomed surprise because once again the girl's never had to perform one during the competition.  It was great, yadda yadda yadda ... can we now talk about how much it annoys me that an entire generation has grown up thinking Maxwell originated "This Woman's Work"?  Come on folks, Kate Bush ... She's Having a Baby ... Kevin Bacon crying ... forget about it.

• I don't know if the show was just getting a little long in the tooth or what but when the usually amazing and gravity-defying Will performed his solo I was bored right out of my skull.  And that Luther Vandross song made me vomit a little in my mouth.  I'm tempted to vote against Will for using that heinous song.

• Kherington's on stage doing yet another "feeling dance" as my boss calls them and I'm trying to scroll back through my SYTYCD Episode Music Guide to figure out if Rihanna has something over on Nigel Lythgoe.  Girl's got more songs on this show ... Tonight we may have received confirmation that the magic of Kherington Payne was in her ex-partner Twitch.

• Joshua Allen finally takes the stage and ends the solos with a bang!  His poppin' and acrobatics were OOC and I had a blast watching that boy's chest heave up and down.  While I loved it, I was just happy that the solos were done. I'm exhausted.

Best Quote of the Night:
Chelsie: "My dress is riding up a little bit"
Cat: "Well if you dance around with a boy like that, no wonder"


THURSDAY'S RESULTS SHOW:

Thursday started off with a Bollywood routine that was out of this world even though it was a week late.  A virtual rainbow of fruit flavors that I couldn't get enough of.

Cat announces that So You Think You Can Dance received four Emmy nominations this year.  One for makeup as well as one for each of the following choreographers: Shane Sparks, Mandy Moore and Wade Robson!  Sorry Mia :P   Hands down Mandy Moore needs to win for last season's Boardroom Brawl number between last year's TV Boyfriend Neil Haskell and that pixie Sabra Johnson.

In addition to the Bollywood group dance, we were treated to a Mia Michaels Contemporary dance performed by the Top 5 Girls.  It was a gorgeous dance: intense, intimate, angelic and simply stunning.  Sadly, the joy I felt from the dance was shattered when Cat called the girls together and announced which two were in danger of going home this week: Comfort and Kherington.

The Top 5 Guys performed a Jive/Broadway routine by a "Mystery Choreographer" that turned out to be our toothy Brit Judge Nigel Lythgoe.  The most shocking moment of the whole reveal was that Nigel has an assistant named Sugar Pop.  Is he also a houseboy?  The Bottom 2 guys are My BF Mark (oh hell to the no) and Gev.

My early prediction was for Kherington and Gev to go home but a little bit of panic started to set in ... I don't trust those little tween girls voting like crazy robots each night so my heart is racing at the thought of Marky Mark going home. 

In what was a shocker to the in-studio audience, Comfort was safe and Kherington got the boot.  I so called it.  On to the boys: Thankfully (but sadly) Gev went home.  He's adorable and I'm sad but he had to go because I'm not ready to part with my boo just yet.   

Who needs a drink after all that?  Seriously, they need to cut the performance episode to one hour next week because trying to cover this much dance is banoodles.  What do you guys think?  Did the right dancers leave us this week or did you have a completely different exit in mind? 

Let us know in the comments!