So You Think You Can Dance - Air Date July 13

It's the last results show before whatever the big twist is for next week. It's also going to be the hardest decision the judges have had to make yet no matter who is in the bottom three, and what better way to mark this occasion than with disco? The opening number was a joyous celebration of all that was good about the Seventies, and nothing was better than the dance sensation that never truly went away.
I did see one of the dancers go up the stairs at the back of the stage while everyone else was partnered up, but the camera work and direction is so all over the place during these numbers it was hard to see what was happening, but Cat Deeley let us know that Donyelle hadn't performed because of her injured toe. Ow. The judges talked about the emotional aspect of injuries to dancers, that they don't have the resources out there to help them out should something horrible happen. And it's bad enough if they can never dance again and can't work, but to lose something so important to their lives and their expression can really be devastating. There's a little paraphrasing there, but damn, it would like a singer losing their voice or Carrot Top losing his props.
Sitting beside me is a piece of paper where I jotted down notes, and one of them was "Brian - Praise for Musa and Ivan." I can't remember what it was about, obviously Brian "Not Dan Karaty" Friedman had praise for those two, but it's slipped my mind whatever it was. They've gone further than anyone probably predicted, sure, but I can't believe their couple work as a whole has impressed anyone.
Nigel "Not Simon Cowell" Lythgoe then finally enlightens us on the big changes happening next week. This is the end of the current couples, from now on the dancers will draw for partners just as they draw for dance styles. The audience will now vote for individuals instead of pairs, and the bottom man and bottom woman will go home. The judges no longer have a say, though they will give their opinion. Lastly, the couples will each dance two routines, and all the dancers will perform a solo.
All of this is good but for one thing. Audience voting sucks, as anyone who watched last season's Dancing With the Stars will know. If Ivan and Travis both make it through this night but the fans keep Ivan in longer than Travis, I will personally cut everyone's phone privileges off until they learn better. The show will be going back to two hours, but at least for a while it'll be packed with actual competition.
Now that we're down to six couples, the next part is going to be faster than ever - finding out who is in the bottom three.
Cat calls down Donyelle & Benji and Ashlee & Dmitry. There are six couples, and they're bringing them down two at a time. The only way to keep any suspense with each pairing of couples is to have one of the pairings have to dance solos. In this case, Ashlee and Dmitry find themselves having to dance for their lives.
After that it's Martha & Travis and Heidi & Ryan. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later, and here it is. Martha and Travis, for the first time each, have to dance solos. Even Heidi and Ryan looked stunned over this.
Finally it's between Natalie & Musa and Allison & Ivan. Natalie and Musa are way too popular, so this should be a cakewalk. You would think. The audience laughs in your face, sucker! They too will have to dance solos for the first time!
This is you - Whaaaa?!?
This is the audience - HAHAHA!
This is me - Please love me!
But let's not bring my own issues into this. Look over there, it's the solos!
Ashlee - Our favourite popper popped all over the place and into our hearts. It was a good dance, but look at her competition and don't hold your breath.
Dmitry - I really don't think he owns any shirts with buttons. It's not like that's a bad thing, but that torso can only take him so far. He's had to dance solos before and has done very well. This time, not so much. It was some jivey thing, but meh.
Martha - Beautiful. The great bonus of having the stronger couples make the bottom three is getting to see dances like this. I loved it.
Travis - Beautiful. The great bonus of having the stronger couples make the bottom three is getting to see dances like this. I loved it. Yeah, that was a copy and paste but there wasn't really anything different to say about it. Travis' tears afterwards because he got to dance with his mother in the audience unfortunately brought unwanted memories of Dave "Sex" Fuller from the audition rounds.
Natalie - Beautiful. The great bonus of having the stronger couples make the bottom three is getting to see dances like this. I loved it.
Musa
- Ah! So this is why he's here! Well done, Musa! Because people still voted for him even when he didn't deserve it, we missed out on seeing this brilliance earlier.
When the judges were sent back to deliberate, we were treated to a peformance by the Pussycat Dolls. We were then treated to a beating by some drunken dockworkers. We were then treated to magpies pecking at our eardrums. We were then treated to... Screw that, this is what fast forward was invented for. I don't know where they found the time in the show, but for some reason this group got an interview before they peformed, unlike all the other guest singers. Strange. Still fast forwarded through it all.
Cut time.
The judges called Natalie forward. Nigel told her how good a dancer she is and she doesn't have to keep playing up the sexiness, and that was the worst of it. She was safe.
Martha got a couple of critiques, but was also safe. To nobody's surprise but to Dmitry's despair, Ashlee would be leaving. She's come far as a dancer, but (though Nigel said it much more nicely) she was simply outclassed by the other two women's talent and adaptability.
Travis gets called over, and Nigel barely needed a breath with how fast he told him he's safe.
Dmitry really disappointed the judges with his solo and his dance the night before. Musa however was fantastic in his solo, but hasn't grown enough as a dance taking on other styles and so he too was cut, leaving Dmitry to make it another week.
These were good choices, especially considering who they were in the bottom three against. Now bring on next week and let's see how the new format goes.