So You Think You Can Dance - 8 ª Season

"So You Think You Can Dance" is back and the first set of auditions are happening in Atlanta. Mary Murphy and Lil C join Nigel Lythgoe on the judges' panel in the Peach State, where we get started with Bianca Hinklerian, who says she dances Colombian salsa. She does some fast dancing with a young partner, Giovanni, and Nigel is impressed. He says they were dancing do fast, "It's like you've got ants in your pants.: Mary thinks it was fantastic and adds it's the fastest salsa she's ever seen. Lil C says that when the tempo is that fast he couldn't tell what was going on. Bianca goes on to choreography. Melanie Moore stuns the judges with her dancing and pulls the heartstrings with her sad story. But its her moves on stage that really wins everyone over, including Nigel, who says that if she gets to Vegas and it doesn't all work out, he will hunt her down. Mary simply says that in eight seasons, she "can't recall having so much fun." Lil C says that "Zeus himself would invites you to come dance on Olympus." She's on to Vegas. A couple of hip-hop dancers named Deon Lewsa Jr. and Damon Bellmon are mostly looking forward to hitting on some ladies. The crowd likes them, but for more comedic reasons, it seems. Nigel says there isn't anyone who wouldn't be entertained by their performance. Mary praises them for coming with a plan that included comedy. Lil C likes it, too, saying they brought authenticity. Nigel tells Deon he's going straight through to Vegas. They leave Damon hanging a bit before also giving him a ticket. That kicks off a string of dancers who move on straight Vegas. Nigel says it's "getting obnoxious" just how many people are making it. In all, 10 dancers in a row made it straight through. Marko Germar talks about how he was shot in the shoulder during a robbery and still has the bullet inside him. He says dance is his passion and that he wanted to come back from the experience "being a beast." Nigel says it was remarkable. Mary was amazed by his "lightning fast" moves. Lil C calls it a great performance, and they agree to send him to choreography, joining Bianca. In choreography, Bianca gets a green light, along with several others. Eleven more dancers were on their way, including Marko and his choreography partner (who was not named). The second day in Atlanta has a lot to live up to -- a historic number of Vegas tickets were handed out on Day 1. Kimalee Piedad performs with a partner on some modern technique, but he isn't competing. There are a lot of contortions and tricks to it, but the pair seems to leave the judges mesmerized. Mary says it was "absolutely spectacular." We get a montage of Lil C's wild prose, including the term, "oxymoronical" and telling someone he was "hard to ingest, but even harder to digest." John Palermo calls himself "White Chocolate," which usually means trouble. John tries his hand -- or feet -- at hip hop and Lil C doesn't look too pleased. Nigel calls it "very juvenile," and Mary asks him if he's ever seen the show. Lil C keeps the prose simple this time, saying, "No. no." John asks for a round of hugs, which he does get. Kyre Batiste brought his whole family, including his grandma, "Miss Mandy," who says she's a good dancer and a good judge of dancing. Nigel invites her to sit at the judges' table. Grandma tells Kyre he didn't use his eyes in the right way to win over the audience. She says, "You gotta bring it on!" Lil C disagrees with grandma and she takes off the belt to spank Lil C a bit. Mary says she didn't think it was great. Nigel says he was disappointed, but grandma gives a yes vote to choreography, so Kyre gets another shot. In choreography, Kyre is really the only one we're watching, and he doesn't make it Vegas. On to San Francisco (actually the Paramount Theater in Oakland), where Toni Redpath and Tyce DiOrio join Nigel. Modern dancer Amber Williams is a little nuts, but she shows off some impressive moves that get the crowd going and had Toni dropping her jaw. Tyce says Amber commands attention and her "body does some fantastic things." Toni is still pumped up and says Amber made her day. Nigel says Amber has "this little bit of magic." Timothy Joseph, a B-boy, vows to bring some "stuntman, high-flying kind of stuff." He wasn't kidding. His routine is packed with flips and tricks. Nigel says it was "absolutely stunning," but says he doesn't know if Timothy can do choreography. Toni says he has a great sense of character is "interested to see if you can do a Viennese waltz." Tyce says Timothy's full of muscle and strength. Toni says, "it was just tricks and that's not enough for me." Tyce and Nigel agree to send him to choreography. Isehia Moss says she used to be a stripper, "so that's where my booty popping comes from." She raced to the auditions after seeing a report on the news that they were happening. Nigel doesn't know what to say. Toni says she loves Ieshia, and Tyce agrees that he loves everything about her. She's going home, regardless. Marcos Prieto wears a bright shirt, but his moves are pretty dim. Paul Keelan appears to suffer convulsions on stage and gets a round of no votes. Danielle Ihle had her father abandon the family and left them homeless. Danielle's mom "had to do every single thing by herself." Her dramatic performance includes a good number of spins. Toni says she's a "great spinner" but "the dancing was nice." Tyce agrees that her strength is in her pirouettes, but he could get more from her. Nigel says "it's a shame, for me, that it was so angst-ridden," and it left him just wanting to enjoy the movement. Nigel says yes to choreography, but Tyce says no. Toni gives Danielle another chance. Ashley Rich shows off some incredible strength and flexibility, leaving Tyce asking, "Where did she come from?" Nigel says she was "absolutely beautiful." Toni compares watching Ashley dance to being cozy by the fireplace on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Tyce says he's a fan. Nigel sends her straight to Vegas, and the judges start singing, "You Light Up My Life" as Ashley has given them strength to carry on. And this leads into a string of good dancers, including some good Latin dancers that make Toni's day. D'on-que Addison gets emotional telling Cat "his story," which he says is in his performance. Nigel cuts the music, but D'on-que stays on his knees on stage for a while, pounding it with his fist and sobbing. Tyce wonders, "Where are we going with this?" Finally, Nigel tells D'on-que that being "that vulnerable" pushes the audience away. The judges say no and D'on-que says he accomplished what he went for, even though Toni says it "was a complete waste of time." In choreography, Timothy, the B-boy drops out because of a hurt knee. He says he didn't want to make it unfair to the "female" he was partnered with. Danielle makes the most of her second chance and earns a trip to Vegas. It's Day 2 in San Francisco, and another B-boy starts things off. Jeffrey McCann says he's been B-boying since he was 4 and was on his own at age 15. He wants to do something with his life rather than go back to a life of "hustling." The crowd roars its approval at his precise and technical moves. Tyce is blown away and just says, "Heck yeah, that was awesome!" Nigel says nothing and just sticks a ticket to Vegas on his forehead. Ryan Ramirez, who had Lil C in her house last season to personally deliver the news that she came up just short of making the finals, questioned whether to come back but decided to go for it. She says she's "found herself more as a dancer." Nigel loves it, calling it a "beautiful performance." Toni says that, "If there's such a thing as controlled abandon, that was it." Tyce says he can tell she's "worked." Her legs are strong. Nigel lets Ryan hang for a while, thinking she's only made it to choreography, before finally handing her a ticket to Vegas. Another run of dancers make it straight to Vegas. Levi "I Dummy" Allen introduces us to "turfing," a form of street dancing from Oakland, that wows Tyce and the rest of the judges. Nigel says some of the contortions might give him nightmares. Toni says it's like wathcing a feather floating around on stage, but it lacked some performance. Tyce loves it. Nigel says yes, too, but adds that he's worried the choreography is going to be tough for him. "I Dummy" joins 23 others in choreography. Nigel calls him "squiggly legs" after the performance and mentions that "I Dummy" just "didn't get it."

We're in Salt Lake City for the next round of "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions (New York City will follow later in the two-hour episode). Robin Antin of The Pussycat Dolls joins Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe on the judges' panel in Utah, and we're off and running with the first thing everything thinks of when they think of Salt Lake City: stepping. Devon McCullough and Micah Clark get the party started with some stepping and clapping that sends the crowd into an uproar. Mary likes that they illustrate the diversity of dance that the show gets to highlight. They're on to choreography. Chyna Smith is obsessed with the show and is excited to meet Cat and to talk about all the former "SYTYCD" contestants she's danced with and has met. She's from "Pocatello, Idaho, where the potatoes grow." She puts on a sultry, contemporary routine that Nigel loves. Mary can't wait to see her grow and says she's "very exciting for this show." Robin says she'd put Chyna "at the top of her list" if she were casting for the Pussycat Dolls. Annie Gratton stands out in Salt Lake City because of her red hair (many of the other girls are blonde). Her fiery dancing makes her pop, too, and the judges take notice. Mary loves that Annie came out with determination and a plan, calling it an "amazing audition." Robin agrees, and Nigel says she was fiery. She says before her audition that she's never danced with her father, and Nigel asks him to join Annie on stage so he can witness their first dance together. Dad busts some wild moves to the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" and everyone gets a big laugh. Annie's going to Vegas. We next get a montage of great lady dancers, much to the delight of one of the judges, but it isn't Nigel. It's Robin, who makes repeated references to wanting to include the girls in The Pussycat Dolls. Tadd Gadduang puts on some kind of stylized popping and locking and breakdancing routine that the crowd goes nuts over. He does much of it while in a handstand -- sometimes on just one hand. Mary calls him "an artist in what you do." Robin loves it and says he "knocked it out of the park." Nigel calls it "completely and utterly entertaining." He's on to Vegas. We get a montage of injuries, including a guy who explains to Cat that he had "bruised balls" ... on his feet, of course. Cat can't help but crack up at this. She completely loses it. Samantha Hiller tells a story about trying to push through mono and dancing too much and getting amnesia. She didn't know her name. She says she doesn't remember the show, but her friends tell her she loves it. Her mother cries as Samantha tells the judges about her condition. She says she's been dancing eight years. Nigel decides to poke fun at her condition after Samantha dances by asking her to dance. Mary thinks Samantha's story is extraordinary. Nigel loves her technique but she has to work on her elevation. She's on to choreography. After choreography, Samantha learns she has a lot to learn and won't be going to Vegas this time. Micah is also told he won't be moving on. Devon, though, gets dragged through thinking he was gone, too, but Nigel gives him a ticket. On Day 2 of the Salt Lake auditions, Nigel tells the dancers he wants to see their love of dance. Chase Thomas shows a whole lot more than passion -- he's wearing basically a pair of black boxer briefs. Short ones, at that. Chase's audition is as short as his, well, shorts, and the judges say they want to see more. Guess they'll have to wait until Vegas. Chase's success rolls into a montage of guys who rocked on Day 2, taking over where the girls left off on Day 1. And, here we go. It's time to bring in the crazy, and Brittany Starr comes on to say she's "the real Ringo Starr's" father. (She actually does look like him). She says the original Ringo Starr disappeared after John Lennon was shot. There's more to the story, but does it really matter? On to the dancing, which includes what Mary calls, "that old chicken move." That most adequately describes what Brittany is doing. Mary likes Brittany's spirit, but says she's "slightly delusional." She should keep dancing because she loves to, but she's not right for the show. They insist on "tying up" one last loose end, going to Brittany's house and interviewing her father, who really does insist he's Ringo Starr. This is actually more disturbing than entertaining, but it's on to New York City. In New York, Jason Gilkison joins Mary and Nigel and we're starting with Princess Lockerooo, whose real name is Samara Cohen, She puts on a display of what she calls "whacking," which involves a lot of hand and arm movements, some elements of popping and locking and a bit of martial arts for good measure. Nigel loves it. Mary calls her "the whacking diva." Jason was fascinated by the way she was able to capture the audience's attention. She's on to Vegas. Brandon Jones gets a huge cheer form the crowd before he even starts, and says he's going to do some contemporary lyrical dancing. Nigel stops Brandon before he gets too far into his routine, but it's for a good reason. Nigel says Brandon is "a joy to watch." Jason loves Brandon and says he enjoys seeing a strong male dancer with softness. Brandon starts to get emotional talking about having lost his father a few years ago. Mary tells him he'll be able to carry on and inspire other dancers. Nigel hands him a ticket. A montage of contemporary dancers naturally leads into an audition from crumper Brian Henry. He says his crump style is unique and original, and you won't find anyone else who dances like him unless he trains them to do it his way. Brian comes out by saying he's not Russell because he's a crumper. Mary asks about Lil C, and Brian says Lil C "brought it to the mainstream -- I'm taking it back. Mary seems impressed. Nigel says Brian's passion was "tremendous" and shows "how music and strength go together." Mary asks him to put on his shirt because she "won't be able to focus" on her critique. Before talking about his dancing, she tells Brian it's great to be cocky and confident, "but be careful when you knock other dancers that have come before you." She says his crumping was fantastic, and she wants to find out how far he'll take it. Jason says he wants to see Brian do choreography. We then get a montage of some more diverse types of dance, which leads into Mary Kate Sheehan's Irish step dancing. Nigel loves her bounce. She says she's won a bunch of championships and is top five in the nation and also ranked internationally. Mary says Mary Kate is "so powerful" and makes her "so proud to be Irish." Jason says it was "such a pleasure" to watch not only her movement across the stage but how effortless she made it look. Mary Kate is on to choreography. The afternoon in New York has taken a down turn until Virgil "Lil O" Gadson shows off some cool breakdancing, popping and locking. Nigel loves that Virgil isn't just a dancer he's "a performer, and they are the ones that do so well on this program." He thinks Virgil will do "very well on this program, too." Mary says America will fall in love with him. Jason thinks it was fantastic, too. Nigel gives him a ticket to Vegas. In choreography, crumper Brian and Irish dancer Mary Kate join the others. Nigel tells Mary Kate she did a good job and while the judges weren't unanimous, she's going to Vegas. Several others follow her to Vegas, including Brian. On Day 2, the show takes the spirit of Broadway with them down to Brooklyn and Jess LeProtto represents the Broadway vibe with some jazz style. Jess tells us before his audition that he needs to work on smiling more when he dances. He avoids it because he had braces for a long time. Nigel jumps on that and says he'd like to see Jess appear to be enjoying it more. Mary agrees, saying "everything was really good," but she's be standing up and screaming if she felt more from him. Jason says he loved it, but... he agrees "it didn't connect." He says halfway through, Jess brought it home. Jess gets through to choreography. Kristen Dobson puts on a Latin ballroom display complete with yellow frills that trail her every move. Jason says there were pluses and minuses. He likes her personality, but that she closed off when she danced together with her partner. Mary says she's "doing remarkable," especially considering she's only been doing ballroom for three years. They agree to send her to choreography. More ballroom dancers follow in a montage. Another montage comes next, with the focus on some good dancers who put the judges back in a good mood. Robert Taylor Jr. is the "the woo man," because he says, "Woo!" a lot. It's Robert's last year of eligibility. He puts it all out there, showing some precise and quick movements in a form of popping and locking. Nigel loves the personality he put into his dance. In choreography, Jess does enough to earn a ticket to Vegas. Ballroom dancer Kristen follows suit, along with 17 others.

We'll have the synopsis for you soon.

What happens in Vegas will set the course for the rest of 20 dancers' lives as "So You Think You Can Dance" heads to the desert for the next round of auditions. There were 160 tickets handed out, but 140 dreams will end by the end of the week. Robin Antin, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, Tyce Diorio and Mary Murphy join Nigel Lythgoe on the judges' panel for the big week. The dancers will start with solos that Nigel warns will result in some elimination right away. Iveta Lukosiute, a ballroom dancer who's made it to Vegas three times now, dresses up as a sexy police officer in order to get Nigel and the crew's attention. Marlon Pelayo is wearing a unitard his mom made and his friend painted. He made an impression, but not the sort he wanted to make. More solos bring more standouts and after the first 15 are done, seven are gone, including Marlon. He gets a talking to from Debbie Allen, who tells him his outfit was too distracting. Iveta moves on. More dancers get the boot right away, but B-boy Wadi Jones tries to turn things around, and gets the judges excited. This kicks off a string of dancers who Cat says "remind the judges why they were excited about Season 8." Sasha and Natalia Mallory, who auditioned together with their modern-African style, decide to again perform together to close out the first round. Suddenly, just 114 dancers are left. Day 1 continues with a group hip-hop routine by Napoleon and Tabitha. We focus on Chyna Smith (who we first met in Salt Lake City). Meanwhile, Wadi Jones has developed severe cramps and pain in his legs. Chyna completely flubs the group routine, but gets a pass to the next round. The hip-hop performances just got worse, resulting in more eliminations, including Hero McCrae and Patty Anne Miller; Irish step dancer Mary Kate Sheehan, and Princess Lockeroo, among others. Wadi's group is up and he hasn't even rehearsed, but he works it out and Mary tells him to drink plenty of water. After that, the hip-hop round catches fire and the judges are happy again. At the end of the round, some second-chancers take the stage. Eight dancers, including Chyna and Iveta, make the most of their second chance and are put through to the next day. Day 2 brings Broadway, and Tyce is doing the choreography. Wadi is back and teamed with Jordan Casanova, who didn't hesitate to show her sexy side in her original audition. Good thing, because this routine called for some serious sexiness. Everyone seems to do well and get through. Rebecca Hart and Jeremiah Hughes, who've both been to Vegas before and had mixed results. Rebecca nearly gave up on the competition completely after having made it to Vegas for a fifth time. Jeremiah threw a fit during a Mia Michaels contemporary routine the last time he was in Vegas. This time, he's happy and Rebecca is sad again after being dropped again. Broadway knocks out 14 more dancers. Jason Gilkison is on hand to choreograph the ballroom portion, which is jive. Natalie gets some attention because she's bigger than a typical dancer and her partner is a little on the small side. He struggles to pick her up. Nigel wants to give Natalia a stronger partner, and they both get reassigned. Natalia's sister Sasha joins Ryan Ramirez in the next group. Sasha gets through to the next round, along with everyone else in the group. Natalia is hooked up with "The Professor" for her second take. This time goes much better and everyone, including Natalia, gets a big laugh out of it. Nigel says, "There are no words for the joy that you brought to that routine." Alexis Mason, Jeannine's sister, is under pressure to perform. She doesn't quite cut it and the judges ask her to dance for her life. Tyce, while Alexis is dancing, says, "There's no flair." Nigel thinks Alexis is a fine dancer, but isn't giving it enough in her performance. He gives her a no. Mary agrees on the performance critique, but gives her a yes. Tyce follows, as does Debbie, which gives her enough votes to get through. The group round presents random music for the dancers to get used to, and Natalia starts to feel weak. Sasha is worried, but has to go to the theater when the dancers are called. The first group, made up of contemporary dancers Bridget, Caitlynn, Ricky, Clarice, and B-boy Wadi, kills it. More groups do great. DC, Arielle, Dashi and Jordan join Natalia, who has recovered from her rough morning. We see that the night before, DC had a bit of a breakdown when he thought he wasn't connecting with his group. He took a 30-minute bathroom break. The judges love it and say the dancers made them "see the music." Nigel praises Natalia, in particular, for "knocking down walls and barriers." DC then goes on a little speech about how other crumpers where he lives are hating on him. They all stay. After a lunch break and a chance to see the dancers in their swimsuits at the pool, we get treated to contemporary, which is choreographed by Travis Wall. Ryan Ramirez leaves the stage in pain. She says her tailbone is hurting. She's going to head to the hospital, but is worried about whether she'll miss the next two rounds. She leaves. Natalia seems to be feeling worse, and also has to head to the hospital. Sasha is worried and shows up just in time to see her sister taken away in an ambulance. She's back on stage now and partnered with The Professor. After some more dancers make it through, Ryan is back after learning her tailbone isn't broken, but she has deep bruising. With limited time to rehearse and still in "obvious discomfort," as Cat says, Ryan takes the stage. Debbie Allen tells Ryan she dances with the passion they're looking for, and she should go "ice that little butt" because she's on to the next round. More tears of joy follow. Jeremiah and Arielle are partnered, knowing that the contemporary round in Vegas has knocked them out before.For Arielle, it's a stunning development but she's out -- again. Jeremiah has better luck overcoming his past, and is overwhelmed by how far he's come in three years. DC is knocked out, but says he can't go back home. Debbie tells him she'll give him lessons herself if he wants to work to get where he wants to go. He takes her up on the offer. Chyna Smith also joins the growing list of booted contestants. Natalia returns after having missed the contemporary round, saying that after some tests the doctors think she has diabetes and gave her tips on how to proceed. She gets a chance to dance her solo after receiving what Nigel calls "a free pass" through contemporary. More solos are followed by more cuts, including Kimalee Piedad, Chase Thomas and Amber Williams. Other dancers make it, and head upstairs to celebrate in a luxury suite. Alexis Mason is back and after her solo, she's out. She seems more relieved than upset. At the end of the night, there are 31 dancers partying upstairs, but that means 11 will go before Vegas is over.

It started with thousands, then 160 were invited to Vegas. Tonight, we learn the Top 20 finalists for Season 8 of "So You Think You Can Dance." In a new twist, the finalists will perform in front of the live studio audience as they're announced. Host Cat Deeley promises "nine electrifying routines." Robin Antin, Lil C, Tyce Diorio and ("back where she belongs," Cat says) Mary Murphy join executive producer Nigel Lythgoe on the panel. Nigel explains that the Top 20 will be named and that the all-stars will return as they did last year when we get down to the Top 10. He calls it "the best of both worlds." Ricky Jaime and Miranda Maleski are the first of the dancers to learn his fate, and after the requisite dramatic hype and build-up as if they were being given bad news, they got good news. Melanie Moore, who's already stood out in brief moments for her personality, is in, as well. Abigail and Caitlin are the first learn they're not in the Top 20. It's time to learn what's in store for the Mallory sisters. Sasha and Natalia have been attached at the hip throughout the auditions -- with the exception of when Natalia went to the hospital. Nigel tells them that only one of them is moving on. It's Sasha, and Natalia gives her a big hug, and is clearly quite happy for her sister. And, with the first live routine of the season, Ricky, Miranda, Melanie and Sasha perform a Stacey Tookey piece. Natalia is in the crowd and cheering loudly for her sister. Nigel is thrilled to see "such wonderful technique" and compliments Stacey's work. He says it bodes well for an exciting season. Tyce rejoices in the blending of great choreography and great dancers. It's time for the "street dancers," which we used to call B-boys or hip-hop dancers or crumpers or... yes, "street dancers" works. Chris Koehl, who doesn't look took familiar, stands there as Mary talks and talks and talks about doors closing and new challenges, and eventually settles on the fact that Chris is walking through a door to the Top 20, or something like that. Wadi Jones and Tad Gadduang join Chris in the Top 20, but the news isn't as good for Virgil (a.k.a. Lil O). He's gone, but Nigel spends a lot of time praising his personality. Another guy we haven't seen much of is out. That leaves "The Professor" Bryce and Robert "Woooo!" Taylor Jr. The Professor is out and Robert is in. And now the four remaining street dancers -- Chris, Wadi, Tad and Robert. Lil C says that under the supervision of MasterChef Dave Scott, they served up some kind of hip-hop souffle. Robin says hip-hop is about character and they succeeded in bringing that out. The ballroom bunch -- which is only two deep -- is up. Iveta Lukoskute and Lenny Crow are up. Lenny gets bad news. He's out, and it's now Iveta's turn to find out if her number is up. It's not (or is it? Which would be good?). It's good news for Iveta. She's in. Mary cries while she tells Iveta how much she admires Iveta for putting herself out there to be judged on the show despite being a world champion ballroom dancer. Iveta gets to dance with fan favorite Pasha. Mary delivers her first loud "WOOOO!" of the season. She's excited to have a world champion in 10 dances on the show (and she actually lists them all). Nigel says he hasn't been this excited since Pasha and Anya danced. Clarice Ordaz and Bridget Krause are up. Clarice is called into the room first. We see Mary tell Clarice about all the amazing jazz dancers they've seen this season. And we next see Clarice burst out of the room screaming with excitement about having made it into the Top 20. Bridget doesn't get good news, though. And another dancer falls after her. Marko Germar, the one who was shot during a robbery, makes it. Next are the "sexy" girls: Jordan Casanova and, well, they didn't exactly give us the name of the other one, but she tells she tries "to be the sexy one." Jordan is up first. Debbie strings her along, saying that at 18 they could give her more time to develop, but "why wait?" After Jordan gets in, Missy (they tell us her name this time) is worried. But she's in, too. Jordan, Missy, Clarice and Marko offer up a Sonya Tayeh routine. Tyce is very excited by it. He's standing up and says "this lineup here is a force to be reckoned with." Robin is very focused on how "sexy" it was. Jess LeProtto, a Broadway dancer, and rapper Nick Young are grouped together because, well, why not? Jess faces the judges and after hearing Nigel tell him he has "a fabulous style" but has a part of his personality that's "a little arrogant." Jess admits he's nervous about hip-hop but has taken "many classes" in ballroom. Robin then tells Nick that his great personality is what put him into the Top 20 (nevermind that we haven't really seen him before). Nigel thinks it's fabulous. There are five spots left. Caitlynn has the confidence in knowing that Nigel not long ago called her his favorite. She's in. Ashley Rick is in just as quickly. Robin says, simply, "Two words: Top 20." Ryan Ramirez and Alexa are getting nervous, but first we see Mitchell Kelly meet the judges. He's feeling confident, and apparently for good reason. He's in. Alexander Frost and Jeremiah Hughes are the last coupe of guys. Jeremiah thinks he deserves it and Alexander just wants to know, saying, "Put me out of my misery already." They go in together and Mary quickly tells Jeremiah he's out and Alexander is in. Back to Alex and Ryan, who missed the finals by just this much last season. Ryan tells the judges she doesn't feel like she showed them her full potential last year. She'll get the chance this year. She's in. That's bad news for Alexa. Now, Mitchell, Caitlynn, Ashley, Alexander and Ryan perform a Travis Wall routine. It's big and joyful, with lots of leaves being tossed around. Robin loves it, saying it was "a celebration of dance." Mary says it was "like this beautiful fall breeze" and that they looked like "five well seasoned dancers up there." The Top 10 guys perform a hip-hop-meets-contemporary routine choreographed by Chris Scott, who Lil C praises as the Master of Ceremonies at mixing genres. Nigel tells the guys that hip-hop is going to be fun, and then tells the guys that "the girls are beasts this season." As it becomes clear that these final dances are purely meant to fill that final half-hour of a two-hour show, the Top 10 girls are up next with a Sonya Tayeh routine that's all geisha-inspired. Mary stands and says, "We're not worthy!" Lil C gives a very "I love Sonya" kind of speech. Finally, Nigel explains that two dancers -- a guy and a girl -- will go home on Thursday, and then we see all 20 of the finalists dance together. America, your Top 20: Ricky Jaime Miranda Maleski Chris Koehl Melanie Moore Wadi Jones Sasha Mallory Tadd Gadduang Iveta Lukoslute Robert Taylor Jr. Jordan Casanova Alexander Frost Ashley Rich Jess LeProtto Caitlynn Lawson Mitchell Kelly Missy Morelli Nick Young Ryan Ramirez Marko Germar Clarice Ordaz