Cat Deely

It's week two of So You Think You Can Dance, and we're starting to know the remaining 18 finalists a little bit better. We can see which couples are working well together and which aren't really feeling the chemistry. And we can see who are the judges' favorites (Will's gonna be in the top four, get it?) and which dancers have to struggle for recognition (Matt's kind of adorable; why does Nigel think he lacks personality?).

I never would have guessed that after two weeks of competition, Katee and Joshua would be my favorite couple. But right now, they're two-for-two, having hit another standout routine last night. Their Broadway dance was a total joy — as Nigel said, entertainment at its finest. (Anything that can inspire Nigel to go that crazy with the yelling and the dancing in the aisles has to get my vote.)

Courtney and Gev made up for their subpar disco last week with a contemporary routine that I thought was performed with skill and passion. The judges disagreed about whether the emotion was believable — but I mainly cared about how well they partnered together and how darn cool all those lifts were. I'm starting to think Gev is this year's Dominic: He's a breaker who can turn it on in other styles, and he makes lots of comments about pretty girls. Meanwhile, Chelsie H. and Mark managed to turn their sweet big brother-and-little sister dynamic into a passionate tango with some of the coolest footwork I've seen on the show in a while. And Kherington and Twitch cemented their status as favorites with their waltz, which came complete with a moving story from Jean-Marc. They simply glided in their pure white outfits, and I think they'll get some sympathy votes as well after Mia bizarrely tore into Kherington for her smile. Not that those two need sympathy votes.

Others, though, didn't fare as well. To see who I think is in danger of going home — plus check out photos from all the dances — just read more

So as I mentioned in the poll earlier today, Sabra Johnson is America's favorite dancer. The 20-year-old dancer got the biggest share of the 16 million votes cast after this week's performance show on "So You Think You Can Dance," netting her $250,000.

I had been rooting for Sabra all season, but Wednesday night's performances swayed me to Danny's side enough that I was just a little disappointed when Cat said Sabra's name. Still, based on the whole season, I think she's a worthy winner. Lacey was the first of the top four to be eliminated, followed by Neil. I'm glad it came down to Sabra and Danny at the top; I really would have been OK with either one of them at the end.

The finale was jam-packed with encore performances of the judges' favorite routines of the season, so to hear a few of my thoughts on the show and the season as a whole, read more

Well, Nigel Lythgoe's plan to keep spoilers from leaking about the "So You Think You Can Dance" final four worked like a charm, even though the couples in question are well on their way to performing their routines for the finale. The dragged-out wait for results this week only made me more anxious to see which guy and which girl would not be advancing to the finals.

On the girls' side, Lacey was the first to get through to the finals, leaving what I thought was a fairly easy choice between Lauren and Sabra for the final round. The guys' side seemed a bit tougher, with Danny making it through first and the second slot coming down to Neil vs. Pasha. To see who made it in, read more

I think this is the first elimination on "So You Think You Can Dance" this season that's really made me sad. Dominic and Sara got booted from the show this week, and while I think voters made the right call on the guys' side, I'm pretty bummed about the results for the girls.

The girls' bottom two wasn't surprising at all: Lauren and Sara, which I'd figured would happen after they got less-than-stellar reviews from the judges on Wednesday. Same with Dominic on the guys' side. But the big surprise for me was Neil in the bottom two instead of Danny. Honestly, judging on the quality of dancing alone, I would have put Neil there too. But when has America ever judged on the quality of dancing alone? Do we all suddenly love Danny now, after thinking he was a pompous jerk for the past couple of months? And what does it say about Neil that even after a) dancing shirtless and b) getting the emotional boost from the dead-dad dance, he still wasn't safe?

So in the end, poor Sara — who I thought was definitely the better half of her pair this week — was sent home, while Lauren gets to stay another week. I rooted for Lauren all through the auditions and even in the early rounds of the competition, but I've really become disenchanted with her since then, and I hope she's the next girl to go. Meanwhile, I'm surprisingly OK with Dominic's elimination; his slapdash partnering skills weren't going to hold up forever, and I'm not sure how much longer Cat could have put up with him groping her with his head precariously close to her breasts. What's your take?

Photo courtesy of Fox

Whether it's standard practice or a reaction to last week's oddly controversial routine, there were no solos on this week's "So You Think You Can Dance." Instead, each couple danced twice, performing wildly different styles and leaving me thoroughly discombobulated as to which dancers should stay and which should go.

The only two who I'm virtually sure will be safe are Pasha and Sabra, who easily get the "Couple of the Night" award from me. Their Broadway routine was incredibly fun, and they also managed a high-energy quickstep to close out the evening. I finally figured out what's so amazing about Sabra: She's such an emotional chameleon, thoroughly changing her expression depending on the character of the music.

Neil and Lacey got the gift of the competition in the form of an emotional contemporary routine from Mia Michaels, the story of which imagined Mia and her deceased father meeting to dance again in heaven. Clearly, none of the judges were going to say anything negative about the piece after Mia explained its roots, and it's not like they needed to, really. It was well-performed, and Lacey finally managed to show some genuine, non-stagey emotions. But I reacted more strongly to the story than the dancing, and — unless it looked wildly different in person than it did on TV —I'm not sure I'd call it one of the best dance performances ever on television.

But Neil and Lacey's other routine was less fantastic — a Latin jazz number in which Lacey did her Lacey thing without ever looking at Neil, who was delivering plenty of awkward moves of his own — and the other two couples were hit-or-miss as well. To hear more about them, see a gallery of photos and get my predictions for who's going home, read more

It's a big week on "So You Think You Can Dance," with tonight's elimination determining which 10 dancers will get to go on tour. Unfortunately, I didn't think some of the dancers who have been the strongest thus far performed their best last night, and I'm wondering what that will mean for tonight's elimination. Will someone totally surprising be headed home? Or will the dancers with the biggest fan bases pull through regardless of how they did?

This was also a week with some truly bizarre choreography, and I think that will go a long way toward determining who stays in. I loved Neil and Lauren's Mia Michaels-choreographed contemporary routine — though I kept thinking I was watching a Sprite commercial with those green and yellow gloves — but I'm sure a lot of people didn't know what to make of it. On the other hand, Sara and Pasha's jazz number (above) just felt like a lot of shimmying and suspender-pulling to me, but I'm sure other people loved it.

Surprisingly, Danny and Anya were among my favorites for the night; they actually communicated with the audience, for once, and Danny seemed to loosen up on stage. I don't know if it was being given a Fred Astaire-type role to play or getting that talk about his arrogance last week, but Danny finally seemed to be trying to be a favorite dancer, not just a great one. And, equally surprisingly, Lacey and Kameron were among my least favorites; I'm not a fan of any routine that involves one partner sitting in the corner for a while while the other shows off, and the parts when they danced together weren't very strong. To see who I think could be in the bottom three, and to see a gallery of photos from the performances, read more

I didn't really want to be right about my picks for the bottom three couples on this week's "So You Think You Can Dance" — but, alas. Voters put Danny and Anya, Hok and Jaimie, and Cedric and Shauna at the bottom, and after the solos, the judges sent Cedric and Shauna home.

I think the judges got it right on the guys' side — even though Cedric's solo was my favorite of his gumby-dance performances from the season. He's amazing at what he does, but he does struggle outside of that, and I think it's right to let him go, just as the judges promised they'd do if he landed in the bottom three again. Say whatever you will about his arrogance, but Danny delivered another amazing solo. I am a little worried about Hok, though; he can save himself with his crazy solos, but why is he ending up in the bottom three in the first place? Judging from the roars in the auditorium, he's a crowd favorite; maybe he'd be better with another partner?

As for the girls, though, I'm not sure I agree with the choices. Anya is obviously at a disadvantage soloing as a ballroom dancer without a partner, but even with my lowered expectations because of that, her solo still left me cold (though it was better than last week's strutting). Shauna's solo was strong (though not as good as the one that saved her the week Jimmy went home), and I was sure she'd be ahead of Anya. I didn't like Jaimie's as much, though I thought she'd probably done enough to keep her there and send Anya home. But the judges sent Shauna packing instead, saying she hadn't shown as much growth over the season as the other two. Which I don't buy for a second: She'd been strong in Broadway, hip hop, contemporary and mambo so far, and that's a pretty wide range of styles to tackle.

Do you think the judges made the right call? And which dancers do you think need to step it up for next week?

Photo courtesy of Fox

I've said it every week: This year's crop of "So You Think You Can Dance" dancers is good. Really good. But this week, for the first time, I wondered if their overall goodness is making them a little dull. At this point, I feel like I know what to expect from each pair, and even though I love some of the current partnerships (Sabra/Dominic, Lacey/Kameron), I'm ready for things to be shaken up a little.

Talkative Hairspray director Adam Shankman (whose chatty ways I learned about firsthand when I interviewed him recently — check back tomorrow for that) showed up as this week's guest judge. While his rambling comments often rivaled Mary's for sheer length and goofiness, he also offered one interesting bit of commentary on the subject of Danny. Shankman said Danny acts like he's already been named the winner, and he needs to show some humility to go with his fantastic technique. Curiously, there was just a New York Times story on this very topic, asserting that Danny was too good to be on a "talent show" and shouldn't be considered aloof just because he doesn't stoop to mugging for the camera. For my part, I think Danny might be the best dancer in this competition, but I'm not sure I'm seeing the spark that would make him America's favorite dancer. What do you think?

Meanwhile, in another night of goodness, it's hard to pick favorites. Lauren (or should I say "Misha" — how weird was that?) and Neil impressed me this week, thanks to some awesome Wade Robson jazz choreography. Sabra and Dominic were so hot, they were practically on Cinemax. And I have to give a shoutout to Sara and her new partner Pasha for teaming up so well together and delivering a fun West Coast swing number choreographed by none other than reigning dance champ Benji Schwimmer.

To see which couples I'd put in the bottom — and see a gallery of photos from another night with several questionable costumes — read more

Apparently, when it comes to me and "So You Think You Can Dance," absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. I only had to go one week without this silly reality show, and yet every morning this week I've woken up with one thought in my head: "Is it Wednesday yet?" Reading the spoilers about who's dancing which routine this week (I know, I'm bad) only made it worse.

Luckily, tonight is finally the night the top 14 take to the stage. I'm most curious to see how Sara does with Pasha as her new partner, if Cedric can survive yet another week, and if Lauren will step things up. I'm also looking forward to this week's guest judge, Hairspray director and choreographer Adam Shankman.

Tell me: Have you also been in "So You Think You Can Dance" withdrawal? If so, you can watch an interview with Jessi and Jesus talking about their elimination if you read more