The show started with a photo/video montage of current and childhood pics of the dancers. Cute, but a bit clichéd and forced. The childhood theme continued during the intro videos as the dancers shared info about their early dance experiences. After Cat showed us the video of the dancer/partner picking process, we got right down to business.

Christina was up first with a Paso Doble with Pasha. The song, "Ira Deorum/Sanctus" by James Dooley, sounded like a slightly less epic version of "O Fortuna." Unfortunately, their dancing was slightly less epic than I hoped for too. The routine was peppered with incredible moments, including one where Pasha lifted Christina into a split behind his back, and then she flipped around him to the front and then upside down. I also loved her fan kicks. Her facial expression throughout was very strong, and a bit too harsh for my taste. For the Paso though, I though it was mostly appropriate. I wanted her to be a little sexier. This dance is supposed to be very sexy and for me, she was just lukewarm. The judges loved the routine and alliteration too: Passionate, powerful, Pasha, perfect. On the whole, I have to agree. Solid routine from the both of them. And a shirtless Pasha was, once again, thoroughly appreciated.

In his intro video, AdeChike revealed that his dad was a dancer and he lost many of his dance photos in a house fire. He got a contemporary dance with Allison and choreographer Mandy Moore. Mandy decided to do a routine without a storyline behind it - a definite departure for her. To my surprise, it worked pretty well. Lots of incredible extensions from AdeChike and Allison and some lovely partnering too. AdeChicke definitely put himself in full-on performance mode this week and upped his game.Nigel said his performance improved, but said he could see AdeChike thinking about the next step. Mia said he wasn't dancing from the heart and even called his performance "false." Ouch. I think he did lose his face at times, but it wasn't that bad.

Poor Alex pulled a Broadway routine with Tyce, who wanted to take Fosse and put his own spin on it. I was immediately scared. Even with all-star Lauren on his side, the routine was a total flop. From the costumes (navy blue spandex with sequins and of course, bowler hats) and the odd song choice (a slow, modern Fosse-ish tune called "Summertime" by Sylvester), I was completely put off by the routine. But Tyce was the chief offender here - his choreography had a few classic Fosse moves (mostly though the use of the bowler hats), but had zero passion or intrigue. There was very little use of the stage or levels and the routine lacked the dynamic POW! factor Fosse is known for. Poor Bob was probably turning in his grave. To their credit, Alex and Lauren gave it all they had. As always, Alex's technique was stellar. Nigel said it was technically brilliant, but lacked the Fosse feel; Adam said there was "a lot of flash, but no smolder."

Ashley was up next. She pulled a jazz routine with all-star Mark and choreographer Travis Wall. I absolutely loved this routine. Strong choreography. Strong dancing. Set to "Wonderful" by Annie Lennox, the routine featured an incredible mix of smooth extensions, strong lifts, and sharp freezes. The whole thing seemed to breathe, and a big part of that was because of Ashley and Mark's performance. I loved when she dove right at him, he flipped her around 360 degrees, gently slid her to the floor and then the two of them did side-by-side cartwheel moves. Each move flowed naturally into the next. The judges were more harsh than I expected, but did point out a critical mistake that Travis made: the routine did not fit the jazz style at all. It was more contemporary. They agreed that it was nicely danced, but didn't show us anything new about Ashley. Much as I loved the routine, they were right to point his out. I hope it doesn't hurt her chances, though. This was one of my favorite routines from this season (and even beats out some of my favs from other seasons).

Next up was Billy, who was apparently pudgy as a kid (yes! chubby babies unite!) and wore a pleather jumpsuit for one of his dance recitals. Nice. He got paired with Comfort for a Krump routine. This had trainwreck written all over it before it even started. It wasn't brilliant, but to his credit, Billy definitely tried. He managed to stay in synch with Comfort for the whole routine, particularly when they dropped to their knee to do some floorwork. He did the moves sharply, but didn't hit it and stick it. With any kind of hip-hop there's supposed to be almost a moment where the dancer seems to freeze, cease motion for an instant, and I didn't get that from him really. Overall, I don't think the routine was brilliant, but it's hard to critique this style. I'm still not totally clear on what krump is, which probably has to do with the fact that the only person to ever explain it to me has been Lil C. 'Nuff said. Nigel said Billy gave it everything he could, but didn't have the "warrior" feel required by krump. Mia called him "Billy B Wack" and Adam said it was a failed experiment. He's got a strong voting bloc though, so he should have no trouble making it through to next week.

Robert was up next with Anya and an Argentine Tango. The routine ad some cool moves locked and was very sexy. Robert looked down at his feet once, but otherwise the footwork from him solid and he had a very strong carriage.Cat got chills from the sexy ballroom routine. Nigel echoed that feeling, calling the routine one of the best of the night. Mia disagreed and said Anya blew him out of the water. Adam chickened out and agreed with both of them, saying he was sexy, but not enough. Anya's a tough chick to overpower in this style and I thought Robert definitely held his own. Anya had her moments, for sure, but Robert did too. I think he deserves to stick around for another week.

Tapper Melinda was up next with a contemporary routine with Ade. Stacey Tookey wanted to explore the struggle between Mother Earth and mankind. Set to "Squander" by Skunke Anasie (nice name), the routine started slow and gentle and grew subtly more volatile. They were right in synch throughout. I loved when they did the deep plies in second together. Melinda gave a strong performance and I definitely felt her despair by the end of the number. I can't get over how gorgeous her lines and extension are. It's rare for a tapper to have that ability. Nigel also complimented her for her lines and while Mia slammed the costumes (the dress was pretty wack), she praised Melinda for her dancing. She should be fine for next week.

Jose was TOTALLY out of his element this week with a Bollywood routine with Kathryn. Even a genie in a bottle concept, cool choreography, and amazing partner couldn't save him in this routine. Jose had a dopey grin plastered on his face the whole way through and hit some of the steps with confidence. For the most part though, it felt like a little kid trying to do Bollywood. His movements lacked refinement and fluidity. He also had zero connection with Kathryn and even fell out of synch with her at times. And yet, for some reason, the judges doted on him for trying. Nigel made yet another World Cup reference (enough already; I've watched every game and I'm sick of the references!). Nigel also complimented Jose for "having fun with it," even though he didn't always have the right hand motions. Mia said it was so wrong, it was right. Why are they being so nice to him and so harsh with others?! I really don't understand what they see in him. I hope America sees through the judges' bullshit and puts Jose in his place: the Bottom 3.

Lauren and S3's Dominic were up next with a lyrical hip-hop routine by Tessandra Chavez. The routine was supposed to be about abusive relationships and though I liked the idea, I don't think the choreography totally brought the message to fruition. I don't think her music choice ("If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce) helped either. Still, Lauren upped her performance this week and was definitely hitting it. My only problem was when she was supposed to be fighting back. I wanted her to really lose herself and she was only giving about 80 percent. Nigel said she needed a wider stance to help her get down and hit some of the steps harder (useful advice). He also said he appreciated the routine and its message. Adam thanked Lauren for following his advice from last week (to really sell the performance and fill out the moments between the moves). She should be OK to make it to next week.

Closing out the show tonight were Kent and Courtney with a Tyce DiOrio jazz routine. The routine had a lot of sexual energy and Kent admitted that was a new thing for him. No! I'm shocked. Again, Tyce's non-B'way choreography was great (good use of the space and the table as a prop and some intricate moves). Kent was decked out in some weird S&M-ish red and tan number, which felt a bit weird. He definitely tried to pull off the sexy swagger and there were some moments were it was actually a success. He ruined the character the second he smiled, though. He handled most of the choreography with ease, but struggled a bit with the lifts. He got into the routine more an more as the it went on and definitely surprised me. My jaw plunged to the floor when he macked on Courtney at the end. Wow. Just wow. The judges were more stern with him this week than they were last week, which was weird to me. Adam hit the nail on the head with his critique: Kent needs to feel the character from the inside out, not perform from the outside in. I think there are enough girls in the audience that think he's cute, so he'll probably stick around for another week.

Bottom 3 predictions: Unlike last week, I think the guys could be in danger this time around. Despite the judges' praise, Jose deserves a spot in the bottom - that Bollywood number was flat-out embarrassing. Alex definitely struggled this week, so he could land in the bottom. I seriously doubt he's in any actual danger of going home though. He's a phenomenal dancer and the judges love him. The last spot is a toss-up. I think if it were solely based on tonight's performances, Billy or Kent should round out the bottom tomorrow. I think both of them have a strong fan base though, so they'll probably get by OK. I think that despite lovely performances tonight, Ashley or Melinda might land in the bottom because they don't have as many fans. They're both lovely dancers, but less memorable than some of the other characters we have this season.

This show's been known to surprise me though, so who knows. I seriously hope Jose goes, though. He has no business being here anymore.