First results show of the season. No big. It's not like the show's been on the air for more than two months. Oh, wait ...

The dancers' opening routine helped make up for it though. Set to "Warrior, Pt. 2" by Lloyd Banks, the guys started off the number with some strong popping and hard-hitting moves. They were decked out in African warrior-looking outfits, as were the girls, who joined in after some of the guys (Legacy and Jakob, I think) traded trick/leap solos. The routine managed to combine a strong primal vibe with sharp popping and even a few Bob Fosse-esque group moves. I thought it was a TabNap creation, but it turns out Dave Scott choreographed the routine. Wicked.

Cat chatted with the judges about America voting for the first time. Nigel and Mary spouted BS about voters getting it wrong. And although I think a lot of the time America doesn't vote for the best dancers, that's not the point. The winner is named America's favorite dancer, not America's best dancer for a reason. Adam straightened the two of them out and said he was glad he didn't have to make all the decisions tonight.

Results: first three couples were Ellenore & Ryan, Channing & Victor, and Kathryn & Legacy. As I suspected, Ellenore & Ryan were the first couple in the Bottom 3. Their routine was a big ol' pile of crap last night: bad choreography, bad dancing, bad costumes. That's a triple whammy. They had to know it was coming. Channing & Victor did a gorgeous contemporary routine (my fav number of last night), Kathryn and Legacy did a fun B'way routine. Legacy excelled, and Kathryn was just so-so. Cat revealed that Channing & Victor were safe, and after a quick trick, she said Kathryn & Legacy were too.

Next three couples: Ashleigh & Jakob (who did a sharp, funky Mandy Moore jazz routine), Pauline & Peter (who struggled through a quickstep, but had fun with it), and Noelle & Russell (who closed the show with an funky & spicy African jazz routine). Ashleigh & Jakob were safe, as were Noelle & Russell, which left Pauline & Peter in danger. Of those two couples, P-squared deserved to land in the bottom.

Last two couples: Karen & Kevin and Mollee & Nathan. I would put both couples in the bottom, but obviously America didn't. Karen & Kevin did a boring and sloppy hustle, although the judges loved it and it did have a few redeeming moments. Unlike Mollee & Nathan's salsa, which was a complete train wreck (if you need a good laugh, go back and watch the replay). But America spared them and Karen & Kevin landed in the bottom. Nigel gave Mollee and Nathan a pretty harsh tongue lashing, basically saying they didn't deserve to be safe.

Guest performers tonight were members of the Alvin Alley American Dance Center. The music was odd, mostly eighth notes on a high-hat cymbal, and the dancing was equally modern. The dancers did a great combination of harsh, quick movements with slow, smooth ones. Lots of tension and dynamic use of different levels between the man and two women. It did seem to go on a bit long, but it was technically more brilliant than majority of last night's routines, so I'm cool with it.

Solo time! Ellenore was up first, and did a contemporary routine to "Eleanore." It was full of quirky birdlike movements and a couple nice extensions, but nothing spectacular and definitely not strong enough to keep her around. She didn't use the stage, do any leaps or pirouettes, or anything really memorable. Ryan was next. It's always tough for ballroom dancers to do solos, and his was barely average. He did a few great Russians to start, but the bulk of his solo consisted of him kicking and flailing his legs all over the place. And he practically fell on his face when he did his last trick/flip sequence. Ouch. Pauline did a quick, sharp routine for her solo. She tried to show off her extension, but the whole routine was sloppy and she completely lost her center during her spins.

After the commercial break, Peter did an a cappella tap solo that was simply explosive. The number had a great rhythmic quality to it, and his toe stand tricks were just insane. I hope America understands how difficult that type of routine is. (Take it from a fellow tapper, that's tricky stuff!) Karen was next with another ballroom solo. She didn't fare much better than Ryan. She tried to be sexy, but did little more than play with her hair and flail about the stage. Kevin did the last solo of the night and really impressed me. Many of his moves were reminiscent of the late Michael Jackson (he even had the black pants, black shoes, white sock combo going on), and did one move where he did a backbend without hands until he was basically on the floor. It was insane.

Based off of solos alone, any of the girls could've gone, and Ryan should have gotten the boot for the guys. I felt like the judges haven't really warmed up to the tappers and Peter could be in trouble. Nigel scolded all the dancers across the board for giving lousy solos and said they were nowhere near the level of the dancers of S5 (he mentioned Ade, Jeanine, Kayla, and Brandon specifically - Evan got shafted again, and I can't say I'm surprised). Pauline got the boot for the girls, and Peter went home for the guys. That's three tappers down in two weeks. Ouch. It's such a shame too, because I think under normal circumstances (i.e. America got to vote the first two weeks), at least Bianca would still be safe. She got gypped - big time. I wish we could have eliminated two girls tonight (Ellenore should have gone too) instead of Peter.

Hopefully things will pick up now that we're voting and down to our top 14 dancers (the Top 10 is just around the corner!), but right now, I don't feel particularly invested in the competition.