For our first studio show of the season Cat Deeley came out looking SPECTACULAR. Hair, make-up, dress, it was all working. I just love her. She introduced the judges, including Adam Shankman as the new permanent third judge. I'm mixed on that. On the one hand, I like Adam - he's certainly entertaining - and I believe that means we'll be rid of the rotating third judge, which blessedly should mean no more Lil C. But it's bad because it may have led to Mia Michaels' departure from the show (she said in an interview that she was hurt by Nigel's decision to go with Adam). That's going to be really hard to get over; I hope she decides to come back soon. Then Nigel spun around a fourth chair next to him that was empty, with only the name "Paula Abdul" written on it. Hmmmmm. Nigel said that he's asked her to come by, and be a guest judge whenever she wants, and he wanted to put the pressure on her. That's a bold choice. If she never shows up he's going to be awfully embarrassed.

So this was a special exhibition episode, where the new Top 20 got to dance in their own styles before the competition officially began. That's a great idea, and I hope it's one the show sticks with.

Of course, this actually ISN'T our Top 20 for this year, since it was revealed today that Billy Bell has had to leave the competition due to illness, and will instead be replaced by hip-hopper Brandon Dumlao. The good news: more hip-hop! The bad news: Billy was kind of awesome, and could have been a contender. Hope the kid's OK. Wonder if he'll be eligible for Top 20 again since he never actually made it to the competition?

Things opened with a group number choreographed by Wade and Amanda Robson, a good way to start any season. The piece, set to "Comanche" by The Revels, was a bar scene with the dancers grouped at five different tables, all of them dressed in old Hollywood glamour. Each table full of dancers took turns at the cente r of the stage in a routine that was part ballroom, part contemporary, part jazz. It was very cool,� and the dancers rocked it. The whole thing was sexy and energetic - one of the best openers since "Calle Ocho." First impression: the guys are WAY stronger than the girls this year,, and I'm not just saying that because almost every single guy is blazingly hot. There are some real movers in this group.

Then the dancers were divided along style lines and given a group number in their specific style. First up: hip-hoppers. We have some! That's an improvement over last year already! The S6 hip-hop crew is krumper Russell Ferguson, pop-and-locker Kevin Hunte, and b-boy Legacy. Of the three Russell was the one to watch coming out of Vegas, where he just SLAYED it. Tabitha and Napoleon choreographed their group number, and were initially impressed by their collective skills, although they noted that they had to adjust to each others' styles. The routine, set to a mix of The Four Seasons' "Beggin'," started out with Legacy spinning on the floor, and then joining the other two in some simultaneous body thrusts. Legacy was a little ahead of the game at the beginning. There was flipping ala swing dancing, plus jumping off the stage. Very physical. Legacy did some headspins and floor shimmies. It ended with the three of them reaching out to the audience with their hats, "begging." Cool. It's interesting - I think Legacy is spectacular when he's doing his tricks, but he was clearly the weakest at the choreography. That's not a surprise, really, but I'm curious how far his solos will take him in the competition. I did feel that Kevin kind of got lost in the middle of the pack. But all in all, it was enjoyable.

Next was one of the contemporary groups, with a number directed by Tyce DiOrio. Jakob Karr, Ariana Debose, Channing Cook, and Nathan Trasoras danced to "Crying" by k.d. lang. Nathan had a lot of buzz going into this competition, but I was really shocked by how magnetic Jakob was during the opening number. Channing confessed to having trouble accessing her emotions for public exhibition. That doesn't bode well for her. They all wore gauzy white outfits and danced around one chair, which was used at various points to jump off, flip over, etc. Once again, Jakob was very dynamic. Nathan did a beautiful spin that showed off his center. It looked like barely organized chaos, and I felt like the girls got short shrift in it. Channing in particular failed to make an impression; Ariana had a nice moment with a ballsy leap into Nathan's arms.

Then came the tap group. It's very exciting; we've never had a single tapper in the Top 20, and now we have three. I do think that's a bit much, but hey, it's just nice to see a new style represented on this show. Peter Sabasino, Bianca Revels, and Phillip Attmore are the hoofers in question, and Derick K. Grant was brought in to choreograph for them, a number set to "Take the A Train" by Ella Fitzgerald. I will confess: for as much as I looked forward to this, I was underwhelmed. They weren't together as well as you would imagine; their arms in particular were often off. The routine was strange in its division of labor. Peter got a big, impressive solo. Bianca did several showy tricks, like cartwheels and flips. But Phillip seemed totally ignored. Did he get a solo? Why wouldn't he? Going in I thought Phillip was the strongest of the three, but Peter showed him up in that number. Nigel basically told the three of them that they had a hard road ahead of them, since he doesn't expect America to respond to tap solos as well as other genres. And he clarified that no, there will be no tap numbers for the non-tappers in the competition. That's kind of bullshit. So the tappers have to learn ballroom and hip-hop, but the hip-hoppers and ballroomers don't have to learn tap? Pfft.

The jazz group: Mollee Gray, Pauline Mata, and Ellenore Scott. I will confess, I thought they were all contemporary dancers when they were first cast. I'm bad. I guess I have a hard time distinguishing between contemporary and jazz sometimes. Sonya Tayeh was the choreographer. The number was all about sex and hot, confident women. Um, Mollee's like 10, and Pauline's sexy face was more like a just-been-punched face. The number was set to"In a Cloud" by PPP. The girls danced in these fluffy tutu dresses that were appropriately cracked out, like Sonya. Pauline was unquestionably the weak titty on this mama cat. I may find her irritating, but Mollee got my attention, and I loved the way Ellenore moved. But Pauline looked nervous to me and gave me little to work with. Shankman gave Mollee credit for dancing like a woman instead of a girl (there was improvement, for sure). He basically told Pauline she was pretty (I would like to politely disagree). And then he seemed to totally ignore Ellenore. I found that strange.

Second contemporary group: Billy Bell, Kathryn McCormick, Victor Smalley, and Noelle Marsh. Mandy Moore choreographed the piece set to "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. Noelle had a foot injury, and her toenail was falling off. Nasty. Victor is absolutely adorable, and will do well with the teen vote and the gay vote.� The costumes were like Ward and June Cleaver, and there was this pastoral wooded background. It was very strange. Billy and Victor each did gorgeous spins, but when they did partner work, Billy seemed slower - not a surprise, the guy is made of twigs and he had to lift Noelle, who possibly weighs more than he does. Billy seemed to be off during the group choreography, falling behind a couple times. Neither of the girls did much for me, although Noelle was the more dynamic of the two. Shankman referred to the number as beautiful and relentless. Well, they never stopped moving. That's true. But I personally didn't care for it, and it was nothing we haven't seen a million times before on this show. Shankman also said that he didn't know how any of them could improve. I disagree; I think three out of four of them could improve. Victor seemed nearly perfect. The rest have work to do.

Finally, the ballroom group - all three of them, Karen Hauer and married couple Ryan and Ashleight DiLello. I don't understand why we have so few ballroom dancers and so, so many contemporary dancers, especially with the women. Jason Gilkison choreographed a samba number, and said that since they're all in their genre, he could really throw in some really difficult moves. Ashleigh said it was the first time two Latin girls have ever made the show in the same season. That can't possibly be true, can it? Seems to me that last season both Asuka and Jeanette were Latin ballroom dancers. The piece was set to "Everything I Can't Have" by Robin Thicke. The three of them looked amazing, very sexy yet classy. Ashleigh is absolutely stunning. And man, can they wiggle their hips and shake their asses! Especially Ryan, who was front and center in this number, no doubt. At one point he was dancing with both women at once. It was a fun, sexy number, and I wanted it to go on, actually. Once again the girls were left in the dust, but I think Karen fared better than Ashleigh, who needed to work on her extension.

Overall I thought the numbers ranged from exciting (ballroom, hip-hop, first contemporary) to merely adequate (tap, second contemporary, jazz). The dancers are obviously all very talented, but the only ones that really shocked me were Jakob, Victor, and Ellenore, and a little bit from Peter. (To be fair, I expected several others to be good, like Nathan, Bianca, Russell, and Ryan, and they lived up to expectations.) Tomorrow night we get our first competition episode. However, we won't be voting - the judges will be picking two to go home, since we have no elimination episode this week. That is some bullshit right there. Do you realize this season started the first week of September, and we won't be voting on these folks until NOVEMBER? That is unacceptable. Additionally, by putting the power solely in the judges' hands, it skews the whole show. I'm curious to see how this works. � � � �