So You Think You Can Dance: 100th Episode and Top 8 elimination results

Janette Manrara figured into the shocking eliminations (Photo: Fox)

Well, that was a shocker, wasn’t it? And I’m not talking about Katie Holmes’ dancing.

The show tonight opened with all the pomp and splendor you’d imagine on a gala even like a 100th episode – set to a song from the Broadway musical “A Chorus Line,” season five’s dancers, outfitted in splendid white tuxedos and snazzy, sparkly eye glitter, kicked and strutted through a fun Mia Michaels routine. Like tigress/host Cat Deeley mentioned, the routine definitely “went for it.” I, personally, have never been more delighted than when I saw Julianna Margulies perform that number on Scrubs, but hey, for a non-combative version, it was lots of fun.

Everyone meant business tonight, whether it was Mia calling herself “Mama Mia” and watching her kids leave the rose-petal strewn bed to become professional dancers on their own or Mary Murphy speaking on what it meant to be on air for now 100 episodes (apparently, some Botox was involved). And when Cat called for everyone to quiet down for the business of elimination, the first shock of the night was when ballerina Melissa Sandvig was declared safe. Then, Kayla Rodomski was sent to the bottom two, after two very good dances last night, which was not as much of a surprise as when Janette Manrara, who hadn’t been in the bottom three or two before, was told that she was would be joining Kayla on the chopping block.

Now, those who’ve followed this column know that I have a lot of respect for Melissa; I admire that she’s hoofing it with dancers 5-10 years younger than her. I admire the grace and elegance she brings to the competition. I admire how willing she’s been to go for broke in this competition. But – and this is important – her combined dances on Wednesday night were just not as strong as the other women’s. Granted, the breast cancer dance was beautiful, and beautifully performed, but it was not enough to blot out the trainwreck of a cha-cha. Janette, however, was a good choice, based on her performances, which were some of her least exciting of the season. If I could switch out Melissa for Kayla, I would’ve, since Kayla has really been coming on strong in the last two weeks, and in my opinion, outdanced all the other women. But Kayla’s problem has always been her connectivity with the audience – as in, she can’t. I’ve heard her described by others as the beautiful, popular girl who everyone secretly hates for being beautiful and popular, and I wonder if that doesn’t explain a bit of her sketchy fan base this season. Because let’s be honest – she can dance.

And then, it was time for the guys’ bottom two announcement and (it goes without saying), more surprises. Ade Obayomi was declared safe and Jason Glover was sent backstage for a time-out before his solo, neither of which were a real surprise. Jason, who danced two outstanding routines last night (and made hip-hop fun again this season!), does not have the star quality that Ade, Brandon, and even Evan have and so, he was always going to be a casualty of his own personality. I gasped, though, when Brandon Bryant was sent backstage to join Jason, while Evan Kasprzak, after two so-so routines with Janette, was declared safe. I like Evan. I really like watching him dance in his own style. I like the fact that, in a sea of contemporary dancers, he brings something really different to the competition. But – and this is important – his combined dances on Wednesday night were just not as strong as the other guy’s. Plus, like it or not, his expiration date was a few weeks ago. There must be some hardcore Aunties and Garmmies, who find him cute, unthreatening, and his cheeks, very pinchable. Meanwhile, do I even have to get into why Brandon should stay in this competition?

One of the big attractions of tonight was a homecoming of past contestants and the repeat of favorite performances of past seasons. Hok Konishi and Jaimie Goodwin came back to reprise their Wade Robson “Hummingbird and Flower” dance, which was still beautiful, but a little less magical than seeing it for the first time in Season 3. In fact, both “Hummingbird and Flower” and “The Park Bench” seemed nostalgic and merely pleasant – some of the weight that probably came from being within a competitive seasonal narrative was missing and thus, left the dances a little flat. The exception, though, for me at least, was “Ramalama,” which was still magical and engaging, in part because it was different – as a new twist on the old routine, choreographer Wade Robson was out there, sunken-eyed and tearing it up.  As far as the other contestants went, we saw them sitting in a group, but there was no time given to any of them to talk about what the show meant/means to them, which was disappointing. 

And let’s not even talk about Katie Holmes and her version of Judy Garland's “Get Happy," which featured some sub-par Kristina DeBarge lip-synching, her own soundstage (why?), and was obviously pre-taped.

So back to the real drama of the night – my jaw dropped when Janette was eliminated. As my husband said, “Stupid America,” which I believe will sum up a lot of people’s feelings on the matter. Nigel tried to soften the blow by telling Janette that she was his favorite and that America had gotten it wrong, but the point still remained: she was eliminated. Then, Jason was given his marching orders, which was less surprising and the appropriate choice, given that he was competing against Brandon. Even so, there was no denying that tonight’s eliminations were disappointing, even as we know that with only eight dancers left, the choices become more and more difficult each week.

So, what did you think? Why do you believe that America let Janette – who had a winning personality, only a bit of formal dance training, and totally rocked most of the routines she was given – go? Was it because of Evan, her dancing, or was her time simply up? Did Melissa deserve to stay and do you think that she can wow us without an extreme piece of choreography like breast cancer? Do you understand why Evan keeps hanging tough in this competition? Did you ever really root for Jason, or just merely enjoy watching him? What did you think of the 100th episode – did it feel a little blah to you, as it did to me? And now that we have only two weeks and six dancers left, who is your fantasy top four? Discuss!