Tonight, two of the top 18 were eliminated on So You Think You Can Dance. The show opened with the usual introduction of everyone. Tappers again demanded more attention with their noisy sequences, and Victor demonstrated a unique spin series with his free leg going from second position to a flexed open second all the way up to a bent knee, turned out. It was very cool, although it won't earn him extra points. Nigel, Adam, and Mary are back (no Paula) to cut away two dancers without a separate episode. You can thank the World Series for that but if you're reading this you probably couldn't care less about baseball.

Nigel reveals to us some good news: Billy Bell will be fast tracked into the Vegas auditions for 2010 while Brandon, eliminated last week, will be allowed to audition again if he wants. Rules schmules, apparently.

The overall theme of the night was "it was danced well, but performed weakly." Here are the run-downs:

Noelle and Russell: Hip-hop
The routine was tennis done as if everyone was allowed to take meth prior to playing. The use of props strikes me as more distracting then enhancing, even if it is done at warp speed. This time was no different, but the tightness between the two wasn't that spectacular. It's not up to the quality of the show at this point. It seemed like Noelle wasn't confident with all the moves and Adam put it best by saying the dancers did well, but were caught up in the "character of the dance" and were "overwhelmed."

Ashleigh and Jakob: Viennese Waltz
A marriage proposal turned into a stunning couples dance resulted in something elegant and a bit trite due to the music choice. "At Last" is a schmaltzy over-the-top song and anything that goes along with it needs to match in emotion or risk getting lost in the bellowing of Etta James. Fittingly, Ashleigh shined and Jakob was, well, the usual great dancer he's going to be until the top 5. The lifts were strong and smooth, and didn't cause any cringing. Mary had one of her shining moments of clarity where she critiqued Jakob. It's nice to not hear her scream and wail for miniscule reasons. Neither dancer is in danger of leaving.

Bianca and Victor: Broadway
Southern. Church. "The Color Purple." This had better be spastic and include something close to James Brown's routine in "The Blues Brothers." THERE'S A FAN! BIANCA'S GOT A FAN! Some stupid camera angles blocked half of the fast footwork but eventually it catches back up. The song seemed to have much more energy than the two dancers did, despite what looked like some flashy and fast choreography. I just kept waiting for it to get ridiculous. "You danced it well, but that's not really the point," -Adam. I'm finding that his interpretations of many pieces are exactly what I'm thinking (although he knows what he's talking about and I just spout off). I don't know if they'll be safe as this looked a bit weak no matter how you looked at it: as a strong dance or a strong reaction to the power of religion. Great technique? Yes. Great performance? No.

Mollee and Nathan: Bollywood
Nathan does a series of pirouettes that look like straight-leg fouettes (Not what they're called, Nigel actually used the correct term but I don't have TiVo, sorry). All while holding a sword. That's just the start of this piece. The highly detailed moves are expertly done. Mollee sits in the background for the entire routine, with Nathan being showcased doing most of the impressive leaps and spins. Neither dancer screws their chances of moving forward with this number.

Nathan Trasoras (L) and Mollee Gray (R) perform a Bollywood routine choreographed by Nakul Dev Mahajan © Fox Broadcasting Co.

Channing and Phillip: Samba
As soon as I heard samba I was scared for Channing. She surprised me by even making it to the Top 20, and hasn't impressed me yet. Her hips aren't as swivel-y as other dancers (despite Adam's praise), and the sweeping man-over-woman moves weren't very powerful. The interplay between the two dancers seemed less serious and more like a peppy number. Phillip also had issues lifting her at one point (oops) and they may have messed up the last leap/move/Phillip-jumping-on-Channing thing. The samba was a tough choice and it may push either one of them to the bottom 4, but they're not going home.

Karen and Kevin: Hip-hop
The speed was sloooow up until the very end. That jolt of energy was definitely needed, although the choreography let the tempo die off. Despite being hip-hop and Kevin's best style, it looked blasé. The theme of the night by this point is "it was danced well" followed by crickets. The judges love Karen, Mary starts screaming again, and Nigel turns on his creepy old man charm for her. The spark of the performance was lost on me, but it looks like these two are safe.

Kathryn and Legacy: Contemporary
Long beautiful lines from Kathryn and unique lifts and transitions into them made this a breath of hot, sexy air (sorry, it has Legacy in it). The crawling move and the leaps of the man onto the woman were great. The best part about the entire routine was that Legacy's strengths were combined with Kathryn's although he rocks break-dancing! Stacey Tookey, the choreography, used Legacy's abilities to enhance the routine instead of showcasing just Kathryn moving in her element. He was, as Adam put it because he's obviously the judge I agree with most of the time, "a different dancer." Kathryn did well and has no reason to wail at a pitch only dogs can hear this week. Best routine of the night.

Pauline and Peter: Jazz
Wade Robson's take on art torturing the artist was just weird. There wasn't a lot to judge based on leaps, jumps, or lifts. The entire piece teetered on performance and musicality. The facial expressions were confusing, which matched the routine. Not much was said from the peanut gallery aside from Peter's shoulders being tight. Natch, he's a tapper. With not much to critique it seems a shame to send anyone home based on this number.

Pauline Mata (L) and Peter Sabasino (R) perform a Jazz routine choreographed by Wade Robson © Fox Broadcasting Co.

Ellenore and Ryan: Tango
Ellenore was pretty as the eye candy, despite her dress adhering itself to her shoe early on in the routine. No wardrobe malfunctions to report, luckily. The two exhibited quite a bit of restraint and control. Good: it allowed them to execute some wicked hard partner moves. Bad: their chemistry was so-so; it felt efficient and Cold-War Russian. The control and focus overtook whatever passion the tango should have exuded. The dance was nothing to weep for joy over, but a great effort from both of them.

On the chopping block were Noelle, Phillip, Bianca, and Victor. Victor? Really? Sorry Phillip, I have to eat my words here because your time is up. They end up sending Bianca and Phillip home, despite a stellar solo from Bianca that showed tap can be more than just schmaltzy smiles set to show tunes. That's two of the three tappers out. Now, Noelle was great in her solo but she only had one routine to her credit in the Top 20 after being out last week with an injury. Victor was definitely better than Phillip, but in what was seen, I'm not sure Bianca deserved to be sent home.

Next week we should get our first double-episode week, where the audience and viewers can decide who stays and who goes. Warm up those dialing fingers…

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Story by Kate Kostal

Starpulse contributing writer