"SYTYCD" Season 7, Top 6 Results (Part Deux)

Last night’s results show was disappointing. With two contestants sent home, it was bound to be a bummer. And the guest performances lacked oomph and excitement. But at the very least, the show started out with a bang. Mia Michaels choreographed a very Tim Burton-esque Alice in Wonderland number with Allison Holker playing the bewildered young girl. The Season 7 men (both contestants and All-Stars), dressed in dark costumes and makeup, pushed and pulled Allison—who spent almost the entire number in a chair—across a giant tea party-worthy table. The choreography’s drama was heightened by clever camera work.

That, however, was the end of the night’s drama. Oh yeah, except for the fact that Lauren ended up in the bottom three with Billy and Jose. Even Robert—who received his fate alongside the show’s lone remaining female—was stunned.

But before we would find out who would be saved (as if we didn’t know) we were, uh, treated (?) to some special performances. When Cat introduced Christian TV, who performed “When She Turns 18,” she informed us that Britney Spears has proclaimed this her “song of the summer.” Is that because it comforts the pop princess to know that there’s someone out there with even less vocal capability? And what was with the 5-inch heels, bathing suits/lingerie and swim caps? The odd getups limited the girls’ movement to prancing and arm choreography. And in case you missed the metaphor, when the dancer girls tore off their caps and moved into the “hairography,” that was the moment they reached adulthood and let it all fly. Yeah, didn’t like this number.

Allison Iraheta from “American Idol” also sang. Two dancers performed a duet off to the side, which was so superfluous that another one of the editors here failed to even notice it. What happened to using these performances as showcases for dancers?

Alright, so there was a performance by cast members from Step Up 3D, but it felt thrown together. Here’s a group on stage left; here’s another on stage right; now everyone dances together. The dancers—a mix of hip hoppers, b-boys and krumpers—were all skilled, but they were filmed in a way that didn’t showed off their abilities. It looked flat…which we know won’t be a problem for the movie! Ohhhh, I know. Terrible. Please excuse me, it’s Friday.

Lauren, Billy and Jose all danced solos. Jose is a joy to watch in his own style: confident, powerful and surprising. Billy, as always, impressed with his choreography. It’s a bold move to spend the first 5-7 seconds of a 30-second routine in near stillness. Lauren’s solo was very thrashy, her body being tossed from leap to turn to floor drop and anything else she could squeeze in. She did it all well, but the choreography was overdone.

Finally, we learned that the judges would keep Lauren and send Billy and Jose home, which really wasn’t a surprise. And we’re happy we’ll get to see more of Lauren. Aside from her solid technique, she brings a welcome brightness to the show. But we’ll certainly miss Jose’s charisma and Billy’s sophisticated style. So what do you think? Did they keep the right dancer?