Thanks for the recap.

Not a fan of the high-pitched girl or act-like-a-baby girl, but I look forward to seeing what they do with tap this season.

Glad Russell made it. Prefer Legacy dancing instead of talking.

Definitely look forward to drama with the married couple. That IS why they both made it, right?

SO
NOT
HAPPY
That Ashleigh, Molly and Legacy made it. Yuck!

Ashleigh still pulls faces and looks completely fake. When they showed where she started and where she is now I saw no difference in her mugging.

I mentioned in the forums but it bears repeating. I am really very disappointed that we won't get performance shows the first few weeks. Those group numbers make up some of my favorite numbers of the whole season and we are getting shortchanged and it stinks.

Great recap PM - I love how much you know about dance and how much you know about the contestants - it's nice to read a recap by such a knowledgable recapper. :)

Like you, I am thrilled to see Russell get through! I can't wait to see him krump on Monday. I am not thrilled with how many contemporary (jazz) dancers but hopefully they will get weeded out early.

Thanks for making me laugh PM (I needed a laugh today).

I don't know if this is going to be the best top 20 ever, but I have a feeling it's going to be the most annoying top 20 ever. I've already discovered my Lauren Sr. (Ashleigh) and Chelsie Jr. (Mollee) for this season, plus Mollee's BFF seems like she's going to be hella annoying too. Add legacy to the mix and I already can't stand 20% of the top 20 before I even see them paired up and dancing with their partners. I'm also not too sure how I feel about Lauren Sr.'s hubby, but I have a feeling that he might bump that number up to at least 25%. Oh yeah, and I'm not a big fan of Ryan's tapper friend either (Ryan so should have been there, but I knew from last season there was no way they were letting him in after what they did to Natalie)

I don't like the new format for the top 20 and top 18 either, but I think the judges will push their agenda regardless of whether there's a bottom 3 or not -- the only difference is that no one is safe, but they'll still protect who they want to protect as always, no matter how sucky they are.

I was quite happy with the diversity of this season compared to last season, though -- until I realized that most of the diversity was with the guys. 7 out of 10 girls are contemporary/jazz? WTH is that? Not impressed. Like they couldn't have found a good ballroom or hiphop girl to take Mollee's place? Puh-lease!

Kathryn M. with the high voice? Major hatred here. I actually got depressed and uttered "FUCK" at the t.v. when she didn't get cut. That was annoying as shit AND I think it is totally an act.

I also have major hate for Legacy (whom I would LOVE to see get booted out first), Mollee and Ashley/Ashleigh of the husb/wife team. She seems more concerned with herself and her husband seems more concerned with her. I think she's selfish.

Yeah, I have no opinions about this season at all ;-)

I thought the same thing re: Mowwee and her self-absordedness (is that a word?)...we have a husband and wife to split up here, HEWWO??? No one gives a shit about Mowwee and her bestie.

I had to wonder how Evan's bro feels...being an incredible tapper who was cut and there wound up being THREE tappers on the show this season. Yeah, he was kinda sucking in other genres but so did Legacy. This must be Evil Nigel's work.

Oh the reason the Gross Tapper is bugging you is because he is GROSS! He is totally cheesy and greasyyy. His face is dripping oil. And there is something frightening about his features - he is puppet-like or something.

Sir BitchyPants (love that nickname!) is really bugging me. I'm a fan of facial expressions but not his. I want to slap him. He was delivering good news to someone this episode and I re-wound his part 6 times just to see the ridiculous face he made.

I too think it sucks that Ryan isn't in the top 20. lame. Legacy, Molly and Ashleigh... all seem to be so contrived, annoying, & insincere. I hope they don't last long.

oh!!! sorry for the multiple posts..my memory is sucking today.

Re: Ashleigh crying when Nigel told her Ryan made it - beyotch was crying for herself! I rewound it several times and then put on closed captioning to figure out what she was saying - she said "well it's over for me then".

Can you tell I really don't care for her? I wanted to, but I think she has to be the one in the couple that is the star. He seems more genuine. Oh and Ryan has a great body but his face is just kinda cute sometimes. He reminds me of Hank Azaria.

Of course I have something else I wanted to share and cannot remember now. Must take notes..must take notes!

Didn't even notice the new credits lol...will have to watch for them next week.

Suprised you don't remember Jakob Carr...Sure, I obsessively take notes on everyone who makes Vegas, but Jakob was shown quite a bit in his audition, i think...I remember one of the judges called him amazing.

While the top 20 looks annoying (Ashley, Molly, and Noelle...can't complain about Legacy, as I love breakdancing), I am quite happy that ALL 7 of the people I said in last week's recap that I wanted to make it, are in the top 20 =)

Didn't even notice the new credits lol...will have to watch for them next week.

Suprised you don't remember Jakob Carr...Sure, I obsessively take notes on everyone who makes Vegas, but Jakob was shown quite a bit in his audition, i think...I remember one of the judges called him amazing.

While the top 20 looks annoying (Ashley, Molly, and Noelle...can't complain about Legacy, as I love breakdancing), I am quite happy that ALL 7 of the people I said in last week's recap that I wanted to make it (Bianca, Phillip, Nathan, Ellenore, K-Bez, Russel, and Billy), are in the top 20 =) I think this will be a darn good top 20.

Also, I'm picking Ellenore as this year's Jeanine to shock everyone after barely being shown.

tv freak - I remember Jakob Carr too. I think he was close in talent to Billy Bell..and got similar praise. Plus he has a distinctive, pointy little face that makes him unforgettable. =)

Pottymouth..I was surprised DiaperBoy even made it through the first audition. That was weird to me. Call me crazy but I think diapers are more "distracting" than hair is. Btw, I HATE when the judges pick on contestants for their hairstyles too. It's the pot calling the kettle black...umm Mia, Nigel..even Mary needs a new 'do. Plus this is the dance world - I thought individuality was embraced.

Amber Jackson was very talented but I think she suffered the No Personality Syndrome a la Kayla from last season. The difference is that Nigel probably was being biased and had the hots for Kayla =(

Oh and the guy that reminded you of Nathan at first - he reminds me of a young Keanu Reeves.

Once again the top 20 is way too heavy on contemporary/jazz...11 out of the total 20.

Having taken 14 years of dance (and then taught tap for a few,) I always felt contemporary/jazz is what people did when they weren't disciplined and/or talented enough to handle something harder...like classical ballet.

I would like to see one year when the judges select a more even variety of styles...and choose less on "cutesy" (I'm talking about you, Mollee) and less on who-ya-know (I'm talking about you, "Legacy") and instead use actual talent as the criteria.

What a slap in the face to Ryan...you're not good enough to be on the show...but we'd like to exploit your talent as a choreographer. The same talent as a choreographer (for solos) that helped your brother make it to the top 4 last year when we didn't want him there.

Great recap...The dogs? Hilarious. Love most of the guys except Legacy. He's playing the underdog card a little too much. Underbite Amber was robbed! Noelle & Ashleigh aren't in the same league. The krumper and Ellenore-gee-I-think-your swellenore are my favs.

BFFs? Giving me a cavity.

Ditto: very happy Russell made it, very unhappy about a lot of other people.

Did anyone see Phillip in the credits - I did a double take and replayed it when I realized they were featuring so many previous dancers.

P.S. Get Billy some Proactive stat!

Well, if Legacy doesn't drown himself with his own tears maybe he will with his waterfall pits. We can hope.

You know a Legacy is an undeserving girl who gets into a sorority because someone in her family was in it, don't you? Hmmm. Undeserving person making it because of connections? Legacy is probably the right name for him.

Not to nitpick, but it's not a new format, but the old one they used for the first season definitely, and I can't remember if they used it for the second. I prefer the audience voting for the bottom three and the judges booting who they like least, but I think Evan really screwed with Nigel's head last season so he needs to reassert control. I'll only care if the people I like get booted and the people I hate stay. Heh.

Like Mia's haircut, but hate her eyebrows. And I had the exact same reactions as you to Mollee/Noelle/Legacy/Russell. Oh, and Kevin.

I'm super excited for this season. It looks like they have a good mix of talent AND personalities (with people I hate, too--not necessarily a bad thing going in), and personality was sorely lacking last season. Also, more lookers this time.

Wow, lookers. What am I, 80?

I had a comment and then I screwed up and it didn't keep so..here is a truncated version:

Hate Legacy.

Nigel is taking control so he can get rid of SmarmFace since she wasn't actually chosen to be on the show.

I can't stand SmarmFace aka Ashleigh and her ugly faces that she pulls while dancing.

Philip is greasy looking and has a marionette-like quality to him. He looks like he was carved out of wood and then overly waxed and buffed to the point where he's shiny all the time.

I cannot do tap dancing. Tappers upper bodies are always an afterthought and that bothers me. They pull stupid "Look at my fancy feet!" faces. Their arms flail about even when they are going a great job at it. It forcefully reminds me of shucking and jiving so I can't help but look disgusted when I watch it.

Ryan is not nearly as gorgeous as Hugh but he occupies a perfectly acceptable niche for me. Slightly beefcakey and will probably take his shirt off a lot. Yum. Hugh could wet the panties of Rosie O'Donnell.

Love Love Love Russell and I am so excited to see him dance and do his unique style of krumping.

Mowwee is annoying for a few reasons but I think it's skanky that she insists upon wearing almost nothing ALL the time. A sports bra and short shorts do not make an outfit. Those are the underwear, not outerwear. It's like Jeanine's fat ass from last season. I'm not a puritan but geez, leave something to the imagination.

Speaking of Jeanine, she always rubbed me the wrong way. I think because, to me, she always danced like she was insecure. She never danced with the kind of confidence that most dancers have. I think it was because she was a fat kid and she would be fat if she didn't dance.

NatPatBen: I’m sure they’ll try to milk the married drama for as long as possible. Myself, I’m hoping Ashleigh goes first. Can. Not. Stand. Her.

Tink: I hear ya! I’ll also miss having the group numbers the first couple of weeks; I always really enjoy those numbers.

blazergirl: I’m so excited to see Russell in his own element tonight! Actually, I’m excited to see all of them in their own genres; no excuses for being lame tonight!

Lizbot: Glad to help! I think you’re right that they will push their agenda anyway; the thing I really don’t like is that America gets NO say at all the first couple of weeks.

leslilly: I’d love to see Legacy go first, but I’m thinking there’s no way that’s going to happen. I’m guessing one of the contemporary guys will get weeded out before he does. “The reason the gross tapper is bugging you is because he is GROSS.” LMFAO! I did a full out snort-laugh combo at that one! :D

chibby: From your lips to Nigel’s ears!

leslilly: Thanks for the detective work on that one – I didn’t even catch that! I agree that she seems to be the one that needs to be the star – she made a point of telling us during auditions that she was always the winning one when they competed against each other. Blech.

tv freak: You heard it people! Ellenore is the next Jeanine! I’m not sure that I completely agree with that one, but we’ll see how the season plays out. You’ve been known to be right on the past. ;)

leslilly: The harping on the hair thing always aggravates me. Dance is a creative art form – leave the damn kids alone! It’s not like they’ve joined a ballet company and all have to have a uniform look. Good point about the judges ‘dos!!

cattyfan: They always front load with contemporary which is annoying. I’d rather see more of a diverse representation from the dance world. For years the studio I trained at didn’t even offer contemporary – it was all about the ballet. We had modern classes but they were much more in the Martha Graham style than what contemporary is.

Sabrina: Glad you liked the doggies! Legacy is going to piss me off until he’s off my TV. I agree that Amber is miles ahead of some of the other girls, but I wasn’t too surprised that Nigel cut her – she’s not as oogley as Noelle, and you know how Nigel likes to oogle!

zerocool: I need to really watch those credits in slo-mo so I can see everyone. I did see Phillip right away – his movement is so unique it’s hard to miss. But I was a little pissed they didn’t have Evan at all. Nigel is such a turd.

Pixielated: Hee! I love it!

keenai: They didn’t use this format for the first season, though it was somewhat similar. The first season the judges picked the bottom people at the end of the performance show, and then America voted on which of those people were sent home. We found out the results of that vote the following week. The reason they changed that format was because America kept keeping Alan (the BIG guy) in the competition week after week after week, and it really pissed Nigel off. That’s why we vote on the bottom, but the judges decide who gets sent home. I completely agree about the mi of talent and personality – good and bad – hopefully the ones we don’t like will be the first to go!

pixiegal262: “Hugh could wet the panties of Rosie O’Donnell.” Holy crap! That made me laugh so hard I almost wet my panties! I’m not a big fan of the sports bra/lycra shorts outfits either – my dance teacher would never have let us wear something like that!

Thanks so much fro all your awesome comments! You guys really do make my day. Can’t wait to see them all dance their styles tonight – I’m so excited!

SWAK, PottyMouth

Ooh, you're right about the format. I remember now. Was Alan really the cause of it? He was actually decent if I'm remembering correctly. But, alas, S1 was so many years ago. It's almost as if it didn't exist. Just ask Sandra Colton.

I don't like Legacy or Mollee. They will stay just because the judges and America hate me that much.

And I like it when the judges tell people to cut their hair, but that's because I'm an old lady. I did scream at the TV for Russell to pull up his pants, and he's totally one of my favorites right now. (Heh, one of.)

Paul Van O was the one girl I wanted in the competion (well, besides Noelle... but that is more b/c she is from my hometown, we went to the same dance studio, and I know her sister). Best of luck to her with her movie though. Extremely glad a/b Russel, Kevin and the 1st guy through (I can never remember his name!) Agreed that Ashley, Mollee and Legacy are super annoying and cannot wait for them to leave.

And congrats Noelle! Your hometown will be rooting for you! In a season where it's all about the men for me, she's the only girl im really pulling for right now.

I was very happy to see Russell make it in, as well as the hip hop dancer whose name escapes me at the moment. Hate for Mollee, Legacy and the high-pitched girl. I'm on the fence with the wife, but learning towards hate. I'm really sad that Paula couldn't stay, I was looking forward to seeing her.

I think the disproportion of jazz/contemporary dancers will never go away, as it seems the judges are all biased towards that genre from the start.

And I still am annoyed about Ryan's early exit, mainly because of how transparent the motives behind it are. This guy made it to the last day last year, so he obviously CAN dance all of the genres they threw at him. So either they kept an inferior dancer all audition week last year to create drama with his brother (doubtful, since Ryah was arguably the stronger dancer of the two) or they quick booted an off-day performance from a dancer they were very familiar with because Evan ruined Nigel's master plan. And they put three tappers in there, but he wasn't one of them? Bad form, in my opinion.

OK, it's out of my system now. There are some great looking dancers this season, I think it should shape up to be a good season.

- Louie

Yay, on to the dancing...
Mowee and her new BFF BUG MY ASS... co-dependent much. Notice how no one came to hug either of them when they annonced they made it.
The tap guy bugs me too. He reminds me of the guy that was on the cosby show who played the oldest daughters shmarmy husband (I know - dating myself).
I also think it is interesting that Ashley made it - I don;t think that they had a choice since Paula was the third last girl to be told her fate, the judges had already sent everyone else home. Man did she get lucky. I smell early elimination.
PM - I think Ryan kinda looks like Hugh... Kiding!
As for Mia's hair - Now that I see her in her funky clothes, she looks pretty good. The first time I Saw her, she was in her choreography clothes (big baggin sweat pants and shirt), and sorry she looked butch.

You can blame the judges deciding the first four eliminations on the World Series and the fact that FOX will only televise 1 SYTYCD episode per week during the games.

There will be a group number on tonight's show and it wouldn't surprise me if the other shows have group numbers too.

It's nice to see that Mia Michaels is no longer using Kate Gosselin's hair stylist.

I try not to prejudge any of the dancers until they perform but I must say that I find three tappers in the top twenty a little befuddling.

Also heard Tom Cruise might be a judge on one of the episodes. What's that about?

fine recap. I suspect the first couple of cuts will be the dancers we've seen little of. The judges are in a better position to choose, at least at first, since we'd only have the one performance to base our votes on. I suspect people have been cut due to bad luck in dance styles or partner selections.

brat - I agree on Ashley making it because they had cut everyone else.

Has anyone heard any details as to why Mia is leaving? You can tell there was a lapse of time between vegas week and the top 20 announcement, as the guy who shaved his head in Vegas had more hair, as did Paula...and yet Mia was there for the top 20, but is since gone from the show? I read the official "she's off to find new horizons, always welcome back, blah, blah, blah" but do you think that's it, or is there anything else to it?

keenai: They never actually came out and said that but Nigel and Co. were PISSED that he made it so far in season one – I’ve always attributed the change to that because it made the most sense.

cansnuts: I know, I really wanted to see Paula dance this year – she annoyed me last season with the crying during the group round, but she had really impressed me this year. If only you could slap some sense into Noelle and tell her that her new BFF is beyond annoying!!! Ditch Mowee, Noelle!

LuckyLouie: I think you’re dead on about the contemporary/jazz dancers. We’ll never get away from there being a stacked amount of them in the top. And WORD on the whole Ryan thing. I’m still pissed about it even though I knew Nigel wasn’t going to let him anywhere NEAR the top twenty.

brat: WHAT?!?!?!?!? You dare utter such blasphemy?!?! BANNED. Just kidding. Maybe. ;) Someone else had mentioned that Philip looks like Tubbs which I thought was a good comparison as well. Either way he is one creepy looking mo-fo.

gerritv: I cannot even go there. I had read the whole Tom Cruise as a possible judge thing and AHHHHGGGGHHHHHH. Seriously? What. The. Fuck?!? The reasoning is that he loves dance. I can’t. I just can’t.

fire@will: I hear what you’re saying, but they could eliminate that problem by giving equal camera time to the entire top twenty, not just the people they want to highlight. We’ll actually get 3 performances before even getting to vote which continues to piss me off to no end.

LuckyLouie: I have been DYING for the scoop on why Mia is really leaving. So far mum’s the word. There have been rumors flying around, but none that I’m really willing to give credence to at this point. But I’m willing to bet money there’s more to the story than her moving on to other pursuits.

I think all the new changes to the show are a result of the audience members' general disappointment and growing ambivalence with each new season. Longstanding viewers have seen it all before, meaning that each new season has to entertain not only on its own merit, but is naturally going to be compared to every season that has come before. This is the reason seasons 2 and 3 are so highly regarded; the format was still fresh and there wasn't much to compare the dance numbers to. Now, if a couple is assigned, for instance, a jazz routine, people watching are subconsciously comparing the dance to the very best of the jazz routines they've seen over the last six seasons of the show. If the performance isn't quite as good as that number in say, season 2, then the quality of the dancers and the choreography in the current season obviously don't compare to that of previous seasons. What the people watching conveniently tend to forget is the massive pile of CRAP routines that have been performed THROUGHOUT the show's existence.

But selective memory is a natural inclination and is to be expected (I do it too), which brings me back to the original point I was trying to make before this post became a sermon. The changes to the show are an attempt to reinvigorate the series and keep it from getting stale. Unfortunately, the producers are going about it in the most obvious, but least effective way. The changes are purely cosmetic - a new opening sequence… a new stage - and the real issues aren't being addressed (of course, I don't know that for sure because the season hasn't started yet). Suggestions I would make to improve the show: (1) Replace the judges with people who adhere to a strict decibel limit, and who haven't fallen victim to their own ego, thus giving them the (supposed) right to act in a completely unprofessional manner. (2) Bring on a massive overhaul of new choreographers. I'm not saying they should never use their current favorites, but enough of having the same people choreograph every week. (3) Bring Hugh Jackman on board to co-host the show. Wait. How did that get in there?

I hope high-pitched, crying girl doesn't go home too soon because she is the best looking of a not-very-inspiring group of females. I'm shallow that way.

My dear PM you raise an interesting point that I always forget to whine about:

"They never actually came out and said that but Nigel and Co. were PISSED that he made it so far in season one...."

Why would they let anyone into the Top 20 that they couldn't handle to see win? (Ok the grammar on that sentence sucked but you get my jist)

They should assume anyone they put through to Top 20 is a real contender. If not, there were certainly 100's of other kids who could have been in the Top 20 instead.

Oh and the more I look at that photo of Ashleigh the less I like her (and I already abhorred her). She really has terribly unpleasant features. (see I'm shallow too)

ohhhyeah: You are a GENIUS. :D I agree with all your suggestions to improve the show. Especially suggestion number 3. ***everyone rolls their eyes saying duuuuhhhhh***

Tink: I agree, but then we would have even more contemporary dancers than we already do! Yeah, I'm not digging Ashleigh at all. I was going to say she looks like a transvestite, but then I thought that might be too insulting. To the transvestites.

ohhyeah: I agree to an extent about reinvigorating the show, esp. the judges. In the beginning, they were not known by the mainstream, were (seemingly) legitimate experts in their field, and were all about the product and the field. Some of them now coughMarycough have become caricatures because their TV personas have become more important than their expertise in guiding the contestants and the audience.

Potty: Your bet would be a wise one. What greener pastures could there possibly be? I'm sure she's big in her field, but before this show started, I never heard of her, and I'm sure most people hadn't. Now she's a perennial emmy nominee and a potential emmy winner every year, but there's something better? Besides, to their credit, this show has been great at cross promotion. Adam judges, directs movies, came and went, as did a lot of them, so even if she did have another opportunity, at the least she could do both. It's not like she's on EVERY week anyway. I hope we get to hear the real reason, as I'm really intrigued about it.

Another reason to hate Ashleigh: she fake-bakes and is always an orange color.

Gross tapper looks like he is melting....I am sitting here shuddering.