Mmm, child! Why didn’t Nigel do this “Meet the Top 20″ special in past seasons of So You Think You Can Dance? How long have we SYTYCD fans craved an episode dedicated to the dancers in their own element - meaning their own dance style and specialty - not a rushed, 1 minute DANCE FOR THEIR LIVES, or the unevenly edited vignettes during the audition episodes. Tonight’s show gave us a taste of that by grouping all like-styled dancers together.

That’s not to say this was perfect. My gripes?

1) The episode could’ve been two hours versus one to let each Top 20 dancer do a solo (I still can’t tell them brunette Contemporary dancer gals apart).

2) The new stage is AWFUL. It’s like the American Idol stage with massive video screens that display epileptic fit-inducing Windows screensavers in the background. Now, the dancers are swallowed up. It makes it so much harder to focus on their moves and feel the impact and emotion of their dances without being distracted. NIGEL, are you listening?? Go back to the old stage so I can freakin see the DANCER, not the lighting and special FX.

3) Some of the dances did not impress and I feel like the judges were too kind in their comments - almost like they were convincing themselves that they’d made the right decisions on some of these folks.

But enough about that - you are here for THE DANCE. Recaps of the numbers and videos (from MJ) below:

TOP 20 GROUP ROUTINE: Choreographed by Wade Robson - “Comanche” by The Revels (VIDEO): This was a super swanky, wah-wah start to the show: everyone dressed to the nines like they’re in some too-cool-for-school speakeasy, snapping and clapping and “aaahhh”ing around the dance floor. Wade lumped the dancers together by style whilst mixing in a stray Contemporary dancer here and there (since there are PLENTY to spare, despite all the judges’ talk of diversity this season). The way to win my heart is naturally to open with cutie patootie Nathan Trasoras leading a pack of Contemporary/Jazz dancers in his (dapper-bordering-on-dorky) white suit. Also a stand-out for me was Jacob Karr’s hot, sizzling entrance with the Hip Hop trio (Kevin Hunte, Legacy Perez and Russell Ferguson) - oh right, and gentle Contemporary boy Billy Bell. Energy something FIERCE, I tell you. I loved Wade’s choreography here - herky-jerky, funky, swanky, energetic - and what a song featuring that blaring trumpet and sax. Niiiice.

HIP HOP TRIO ROUTINE: Russell Ferguson (Krump), Legacy Perez (B-Boy) & Kevin Hunte (Pop-Locker) - Choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon - “Beggin’ (District ‘78 Remix)” by Madcon (Intro VIDEO & Dance VIDEO): These three guys aren’t really similar in their specialties but got plopped together into the “Hip Hop” umbrella. Still, they seemed really supportive of one another and had explosive spirit. I think Legacy was the weakest of the trio (that’s right, I’m judging already) and Russell Ferguson was the stand-out, especially during his mini solo after flying off-stage. I like his boom boom pow!

CONTEMPORARY QUARTET #1: Nathan Trasoras, Jakob Karr, Ariana DeBose & Channing Cooke - Choreographed by Tyce DiOrio - “Crying” by k.d. Lang (Intro VIDEO & Dance VIDEO): If you’re a regular reader, you know I’m NOT into Tyce, his overrated choreography, his rudeness and his air of self-importance. Needless to say I was bummed he was choreographing my two fave Contemporary dancers: Nathan & Jakob. I found the piece too “busy”. It’s about 4 people dealing with sadness in different ways, which means you have 4 dancers twitching and writhing around at different times and it was so frantic that I couldn’t focus on all of them. All I recall was that Nathan did pirouettes for days - he’s dreamy. “Meh” to you, Tyce - MEH.

TAP TRIO ROUTINE: Bianca Revels, Phillip Attmore & Peter Sabasino - Choreographed by Derrick K. Grant - “Take the ‘A’ Train” by Ella Fitzgerald (Intro VIDEO & Dance VIDEO): Sadly, this tap number did not translate to that big stage for me. My thoughts? Bianca’s got personality just bursting out of her, Phillip’s got a weird nose and Peter looks like Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth.

JAZZ TRIO ROUTINE: Pauline Mata, Mollee Gray & Ellenore Scott - Choreographed by Sonya Tayeh - “On a Cloud” by PPP (Intro VIDEO & Dance VIDEO): Mollee Gray STILL acts like a dorky kid and annoys me. Why do the producers pimp her out so much? More Ellenore! Actually, in this number I felt that Ellenore and Pauline stood out. But maybe that’s cuz I’m reverse biased toward (against?) Mollee. This number was ok. The lacey gloves and tutus were an odd costume choice.

CONTEMPORARY QUARTET #2: Victor Smalley, Kathryn McCormick, Noelle Marsh & Billy Bell - Choreographed by Mandy Moore - “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay (Intro VIDEO & Dance VIDEO): This dance was way similar to Season 4’s Top 4 “celebratory Scottish kilt” group dance by Mia Michaels — just me? I guess it’s the strings, the quartet of dancers, the jumpy/bouncy/fruity movements…I prefer Season 4’s routine. I still can’t keep track of which brunette girl is which, but I’ll get there… NEWSFLASH: we got sad news that Billy Bell withdrew from the show due to (mysterious-but-life-threatening) illness! Tragic because he was an early audience favorite and could make Adam Shankman blubber like a baby. He will be replaced by Bay Area Hip Hop dancer, Brandon Dumlao. I’m sad Billy’s out, but also excited that Brandon gets a chance: a Hip Hop dancer and also from my hometown!

BALLROOM ROUTINE: Karen Hauer, Ashleigh Di Lello & Ryan Di Lello - Choreographed by Jason Gilkinson – “Everything I Can’t Have” by Robin Thicke (Intro DANCE & Dance VIDEO): Three’s a crowd and Karen’s a firecracker. I want to see more of her - without the married couple.

Who rang your bell in the “Meet the Top 20″ special? Tonight, the “REAL” competition begins: a 2-hour premiere where the dancers partner up and pony up to take on a new dance style. The judges will boot out TWO dancers. Maybe one of the brunette Contemporary girls will get kicked off, who knows! Tune in to So You Think You Can Dance and find out!

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