'So You Think You Can Dance' Season 8: The Top 16 Perform

"So You Think You Can Dance" season 8 sashayed on June 29 as the top 16 contestants performed. Cat Deeley opened the show by introducing the night's four judges,Lil C, Mary Murphy, Nigel Lythgoe and guest judge Kristin Chenoweth. Cat revealed that not only would the night's entertainment include the requisite couple dances, but two awesome group numbers as well.

The first group, coached by Tyce DiOrio, met up to go over their chair-tossing, girl-powered routine. The dance, set to Ray Charles' iconic 'Hit the Road Jack', featured eight dancers --Miranda Maleski, Sasha Mallory, Ryan Ramirez, Clarice Ordaz, Tadd Gadduang, Marko Germar, Chris Koehl and Mitchell Kelly. The girls wore sunglasses,threw chairs and flipped their hair around a lot. The guys were dominated. Then it was over.

With the first group routine over, the individual couples had their turns in the spotlight. The week's bonus 'about the contestants' content asked the finalists to sharememories of their first performances. Sasha Mallory called herself a tomboy, and shared that her first performance was as a frog in Thumbelina. Now, naturally, she doesn't like the ribbiting amphibians. Partner Alexander Fost said that his firstforay was in a tribute to the Lion King at his 6th birthday party. Dee Caspary choreographed the couple's contemporary routine. Sasha was charged with playing Alexander's memory, and Dee said that the two would need to work together to find the "soul" of the piece. Cary Brothers' "Belong" served as the rolling backdrop for the routine, which prominently featured a piano. It was a powerful, angular sort of dance that lacked grace, but had good substance and heart. And the crowd loved it. Nigel Lythgoe commented "good start". He called Sasha "a beautiful princess of dance" and told Alex that he needed to work harder at "controlling" the audience with his emotion. Mary called them "beautiful" dancers and agreed that Alex still needs to "grow". She called Sasha "a gorgeous, gorgeous artist" and praised her "power". Kristin praised Sasha for dancing big with no sound, and said that Alexander's extensions were great. Lil C enjoyed their "effortlessness" of the program and called Sasha "eight notches above perfection".

Caitlynn Lawson also called herself a tomboy (haha) said that her first performance was a "duck dance" while partner Mitchell Kelly was as Leroy in "Fame". The two were assigned a Jean-Marc Genereux Samba. The choreographer's method of teaching was deemed "crazy" by Mitchell, but the dancer admitted that it worked. Jean-Marc encouraged the duo to use their hips like "speakers" to speak to the audience. "Put it in a Love Song" by Alicia Keys featuring Beyonce served as the couple's tune for the week. Maybe I watch too much "Dancing with the Stars", but the moves weren't as precise as I'm used to seeing. The lines were okay, but it seemed unfinished. Mary opened the critique by calling it "spectacular" and praised them both for "really living it". She loved Caitlynn's "foot action" and leg action and cried "what is going on up there?" to Mitchell. Uh, okay. Apparently no one's going to get a smackdown on this show, ever. Kristin declared "shut the front door, shut the back door, shut the door to the garage". Then she went on with more of the same. Funny, but a total waste of time. Lil C told them to "turn the decibels down on that ballroom button". Nigel called Mitchell "The Chris Rock of 'So You Think You Can Dance'" and praised the "articulation" of Caitlynn's body.

The show continued with Miranda Maleski, who called herself an "opinionated" kid who first performed in a tap routine. Partner Robert Taylor Jr. shared that his first performance was a Michael Jackson impersonator. The two met with choreographer Tyce, who put together their Broadway number. Tyce cast Miranda as "an upper class working girl" and Robert as a "groovy cat that feels the music". Tyce admitted that he was a little nervous about the two mastering the fast-paced routine, but said that he had his fingers crossed. Set to "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got that Swing)" by Sophistocated Ladies, the dance opened slowly, with Miranda vamping Robert. And then it was off to the races. It definitely didn't appear to be as fast as advertised, but I guess that means maybe they did a good job. I don't know. It looked average to me. Kristin said "you killed it" and said she bought the couple's characterizations. She said she had "nothing bad to say". Lil C declared to Miranda "with legs like that, who needs arms?" and said he loved Robert's personality. Nigel agreed with C, calling Miranda the "most changed dancer" since the show began. Miranda gushed over her partner, too. Aw, how sweet. Mary finished the critique, calling them "great together".

Melanie Moore and Marko Germar were up next. Melanie said she'd been a performer since "day one", and said that her first performance on stage was in a Little Bo Peep costume. Marko called himself a "spoiled brat", and credited dance classes with changing his personality for the better. His first performance? Jazz and hip hop. The two were assigned a Lyrical Hip Hop routine by Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo. The dance told the story of jilted groom Marko, who realizes halfway through the dance that Melanie, and not his ex-fiancee,is the girl for him. Leona Lewis' "I Got You" served as the tune for the routine, which opened with a tearful Marko sitting ont he edge of the stage. Although the two of them have gotten what I consider to be an unfair amount of publicity from the producers, they are indeed really, really good together. It was so sharp and rhythmic. Lil C called them "a power couple" and loved their "beefy" connection. Nigel called the concept "brilliant" and dubbed them "the couple to beat". Mary praised their ability to "knock out a special performance every single week". She called Marko's technique "razor sharp" and enjoyed Melanie's "layered nuances". In a totally unnecessay moment, Nigel swooped in and kissed her in dramatic fashion as she addressed the pair's on-stage kiss. Kristin called them "the epitome of the kind of language I understand". And then she turned and kiss C. Then Nigel approached to kiss C. Yeah, it was weird.

At the halfway point, Ashley Rich and Chris Koehl enjoyed their time in the spotlight. Ashley shared that her first dance performance happened when she was three years old, and involved a red tutu and a shopping cart. That's unique. Partner Chris's first time on stage involved a poetry reading rather than dance. The two drew a jazz number for the week, and met up with Sonya Tayehto learn their routine. Chris was worried about working with Sonya, because although he said her work is amazing, it's also exhausting to learn. Sonya called the piece very "grave-like", and said she was interested in exploring different sides of people. Chris said he'd have fun being "creepy" and not stress over the technical part of the dance. Uh, okay. That always goes well. Dressed in what can only be described as bizarre grab, Ashely and Chris hit the stage to the tune of Telepathe's "Lights Go Down". Ashley's flexibility is amazing, but man, that was one weird dance. I'd love to see this couple get to do something elegant for once, especially since Ashley is a contemporary dancer. Nigel said he didn't "connect with the music" and said he wanted them to be "more overt with the characters". He criticized them for not going "over the top" and said there wasn't enough "character or heart and soul" in the dance. Mary said she could see Nigel's point, but enjoyed the "synchronization". She called Ashley "beautiful" and praised Chris' journey. Kristin said she didn't mean to be "the Paula Abdul of So You Think You Can Dance" but said they "blow her mind" each week. She called Ashley one of her favorites. Lil C praised Sonya's weird work and called Ashley "the sleeper cell of the competition" and told her to "keep being a silent assassin". Then he said something weird to Chris.

Up next to perform were Clarice Ordaz and Jess LeProtto. Clarice shared that as a little girl, she took every available opportunity to perform, but said that her first time in the spotlight happened when she was two and a half. Jess 'the mess' said that all he did during his first performance was wave to his mommy. The two were assigned a Jean-Marc Genereux Foxtrot. Jean-Marc said he hoped it would be perfect. It was set at the Rainbow Room in New York and involved a singer and a beautiful woman. The two had trouble mastering the technical details during rehearsals. The routine, set to Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon", was a gift to Broadway boy Jess. It was cute. And much-smaller Jess didn't drop his gal. So points for that feat. Mary praised the effort, calling Clarice "beautiful" and telling Jess "there isn't a single other dancer... that could've done what you did just now". Well, yes. It was a Broadway style routine, duh. Kristin called it her "favorite performance of the night". She loved Clarice's arm movements, and called the two "music" together. She called Jess "Gene Kelly". It was a quick, gushing review. Lil C said they'd "put a face on the smile of [Jean-Marc's] heart". He called Jess "a phenom" as a performer. Nigel called Clarice's dress "a spider's web of bling" as he complicated costuming. He acknowledged that Jess isn't a "ballroom technician" but said he loved his style.

Ricky Jamie and Ryan Ramirez were up next. Ricky shared that his first performance was a trainwreck, while Ryan confessed that prior to starting dance, she was very shy. Her first dance was set to Animal Crackers. The pair were assigned a Sonya Tayeh contemporary routine about a couple struggling to let go of a romance. Ryan confessed that she hadn't yet been in love, and tearfully admitted that because of that fact, she could feel the emotion behind it. Ricky shared that he'd channel feelings about his father, who left he and his mother when he was a baby, to get into the mood. Sonya said she thought it would be lovely. Robyn's "With Every Heartbeat" serrved as the musical accompaniment for the dance, during which the two were literally connected --on and off-- by a long black piece of fabric. For me, it was jarringly herky jerky. But it's also the kind of thing that the judges lap up like warm milk and honey, gag. Kristin related to the theme of the dance (well, yeah, they weren't acting as zombies) and called Ricky's jumps "beautiful". Lil C called Sonya "the artistic director for everything that is both abstract and concrete about emotion and movement". He called them "a power couple in the competition"(what?!). And "buckness". Okay. Nigel praised Sonya as well, and said he was glad that they'd saved Ryan from elimination last week. He called Ricky "just incredible". Mary acknowledged that some would say they were lucky to have drawn contemporary, but called them "really strong dancers".

Jordan Casanova, whowith partnerTadd Gadduang ended thecouple-dance portion of the show,called herself "a crazy kid who used to growl at people". Her first dance performance was to "Spice Up Your Life" by the Spice Girls. That performance got her into dance classes. shared that his first dance took place as a part of a traditional Filipinodance. They were assigned a Nappy Tabs love story, which involved the two of them struggling to put clothes on after spending a night together. Despite Jordan's usual provocative dancing, she was uncomfortable with the routine, saying she sleeps "with Pillow Pets". But she struck it out. They began their number, set to David Guetta's "Memories", with a nicely ripped Tadd emerging from under the covers first. They uh, made effective use of their bed-prop. And it was cute. I guess. Lil C loved on Nappy Tabs and said he loved the concepts, but said they needed to "dance to the bone" through all of the movement. Nigel said the routine "brought back so many memories" (hahaha) and called it "great fun". He proclaimed that they'd be "here for weeks to come". Mary said "you just put the whammy on all of us right now" and "I loved it". Kristin repeated her earlier rambling commentary, beginning with "shut the front door" and ending with "that was a dessert and I liked every bite".

The show came to a close with the evening's second group routine, featuring Caitlynn, Ashley, Jordan, Melanie, Ricky, Alex, Jess and Robert. The contemporary piece, choreographed by Dee Caspary, involved the girls trying to poison the guys. Uh, okay. The Civil Wars "Poison and Wine" served as the background music for the piece. The number was oddly elegant, given the subject matter, with lovely lines all-around and lots of emotion.

So who's in danger? Based solely on the judges' commentary, Ashley Rich and Chris Koehl could be in peril. However, they've yet to appear in the bottom three, so you never know. They gota raw deal with Sonya's bizarre piece and a bad music choice, but that's how the chips fall sometimes. Despite high praise, I didn't love Miranda and Robert's number. It lacked sparkle. I also wasn't bought by Ryan and Ricky's Sonya routine, but they were in the bottom last week so their fans will probably rally to save them.

Watch tomorrow night's "So You Think You Can Dance" season 8 top 16 results show tomorrow at 8 PM on FOX.