"Step It Up & Dance" (1.04): The "where is Carol Burnett when you need her?" recaplet

The fourth episode of Step It Up And Dance aired on Bravo last night, and the three out guys left on the show again ran the gamut from winner to elimination nominee. The challenge on this episode was centered on the phenomenon known as STOMP.

Confession time: I'm not really into STOMP. Don't get me wrong, I'm in awe of the talent and artistry it takes, but frankly ... all that banging gives me a headache. And every time I see them running around the stage with brooms, I keep imagining Carol Burnett as her "cleaning lady" character.

My aversion to seeing trash can lids clanged together probably stems from a traumatic moment in elementary school music class, when I was denied my rightful spot as cymbal player, and had to settle for playing the wretched triangle.

I've known people who've followed STOMP around like it was The Grateful Dead, so I have to give props to Luke Cresswell (who shows up as a judge for the competition), who has created something truly unique. However, there were obviously quite a few former triangle players last night, because most of the dancers were less than enthused about this challenge, and one of our gays was openly dismissive about the entire concept.

Miguel has to go. There, I said it. His ego and arrogance have become unbearable, not to mention his petty jealousy of Michael, whose porn pics are now my screensaver were revealed last week. Miguel considers himself an expert on all forms of dance, and is convinced that no one can touch him when it comes to raw ability (even though he's been in the bottom three twice). Here a few quotes from Miguel this week about himself and his fellow dancers:

"People were having problems with the counting, and just with the entire concept of STOMP, and these dancers for the most part don't have it, it's always just a little off"

"It came so naturally to me, I have naturally an amazing sense of rhythm"

"Mike sucks. He is still here, solely based on luck, not on talent"

"Mike's not a dancer, he's a wannabe. I hate that he's on my team"

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you, Miguel. Unfortunately, he did turn out to have a knack for STOMP, and ended up on the winner's team, where it came down to him and Michael battling for immunity for next week's show. The judges wavered back and forth between the two, before finally settling on ... Miguel. That means he has immunity for next week, and he and his ego will live for at least one more competition.

See how our other two guys fared, and find out who was eliminated, after the break!

Poor Michael. First his porn pics are revealed (and which I'm sure are now the screensavers for countless sick perverts around the world), and now he has the indignity of coming in runner-up at the immunity challenge for the second week in a row. To top if off, he lost to his arch nemesis, Miguel, and he seemed genuinely crushed not to have won. Really, who does this guy need to ... hmm, in light of recent discoveries, I probably shouldn't finish that.

If there's one good thing for Michael, it's that the last two weeks have really shown the judges that he does have what it takes. He seems to be growing in confidence with each challenge, and he's now my co-favorite to win (along with pretty boy Cody).

And finally, there's Oscar. He's still my favorite personality, but he was clearly out of his element again this week, which he openly acknowledged. His distaste for the entire concept was evident when he was put in the elimination group, and wasn't surprised at all. He said, "I didn't go to school for STOMP ... there isn't such a thing", and then let out a dismissive grunt that sounded like a combination of "HA!", "HUH", and "HMPHH".

He did provide the night's funniest moment, when his group decided to rehearse in the apartment, and unable to find a broom, he improvised with a vacuum cleaner, ala Kathy Najimy in Hocus Pocus. He tried his best, but for the second week in a row, he ended up in the bottom ... and unlike last week, he didn't have immunity. It came down to him and ballet dancer Tovah for elimination, and the judges again wavered back and forth between the two until finally giving Tovah the boot. So that's lucky for us: not only do our guys all survive another week, but in the previews for next week's show, it looks like Oscar is going to have a good old fashioned hissy fit over someone!