Since we’re down to only 6 couples this week, everyone has a 50/50 shot of being in the bottom 3 tomorrow, though we all know who’s going home. (We BETTER know! ;))

There were some surprises last night, namely Twitchington performing quite poorly, Tyce Diorio doing a post-modern contemporary routine, a Bollywood contribution, and Courtney and Gev taking top honors from the judges.

Most unbelievable, however, was this subdued and fairly “normal” dress worn by Cat Deeley. No feathers? No face-eating venus-fly-trap ruffles? What gives?

Everyone danced two dances last night, so I’m covering both dances for each couple at once. First up:

They kicked off the show with a well-received Salsa choreographed by Alex D’Silva. Good start to the night. Their technique wasn’t flawless but their high-energy performance held it up

For a couple that I disliked at the beginning of the season, they must have grown on me quite a bit, because I invariably end up taking more screenshots of these guys than anyone else.

Their second dance was fabulous, not just because Chelsie has 5′1″ long legs on a 5′2″ body (as Nigel put it).

This was Tyce Diorio Broadway to “I’m a Woman” from Smokey Joe’s Cafe.

I thought they killed the steps, nailed the lifts, and frankly knocked this routine out of the park.

Mark’s creepiness has diminished for me, but Chelsie keeps looking more beautiful every week. I would love to see her with Gev when they start mixing up the partners. Since he’s so small of frame, his changes in the final 10 are entirely dependant on who he pulls from the hat.

My guess is these two will be safe tonight.

*****

Their first routine was Tabitha and Napoleon taking on another really chilled out hip-hop song by Ne-Yo. I posted my absolute favorite SYTYCD routine last week, the “Sexy Love” Ne-Yo umbrella routine by Ivan and Allison. They had Shane Sparks to choreograph, but I thought T&N did another fantastic job that only fell flat because Comfort and Thayne are so painfully mediocre.

I thought Thayne gave it the old college try, but these two have lost any chemistry they may have faked last week. Plus, even in her element, Comfort is still managing to bore me.

This second dance was Mandy Moore choreography to a George Michael song. (Is he staging a come-back or something? I caught him as a guest star/cameo performer on Eli Stone the other night.)

The judges outright said exactly what was going through my mind throughout the entire thing. I really liked this choreography and was disappointed not to see it danced by a better couple.

I’m glad Thayne was basically offered a job by Mia Michaels last night because the world has gone all wrong if these two don’t go home next.

*****

Their first showing was a very out-of-the-box routine by Tyce Diorio. I think of this guy as the jazz king, and this moving-sculpture contemporary dance was a neat surprise.

I think someone in the costume department has the hots for Will’s bod. Is this the third routine he’s done with no shirt?

The judges were almost universally delighted by this dance, but I have to somewhat disagree. I thought it looked extremely labored in many parts. Granted, it was labor intensive, but the transitions between forms were frequently shaky-looking. Many spots that required pushing off or moving with their partner were not smooth at all. Upon rewatching this for review, many of these instances became even more apparent.

Then they draw the dreaded quick-step. Tony Meredith and his head-on-fire co-choreographer gave them a middle of the road routine that left them no way to blow it up.

I thought the judges were rather harsh though, particularly when they are normally a little forgiving on the high-difficulty ballroom dances.

Will & Jessica should be in the bottom three tonight, but they shouldn’t go home. Will finally gets to dance with new partners starting next week.

*****

Courtney and Gev came up ACES last night! This is still my secret favorite couple and I hope they get the votes to chill out and watch the solos from safety tomorrow.

The women’s wardrobes have been particularly skimpy this year. I don’t particularly mind because it gives my husband an excuse to watch sometimes.

So of course, their Cha-Cha-Cha wasn’t technically perfect, but they still gave it a good hard crushing. Former contestants Anya and Pasha put everything into this routine. Definitely a bigger success that Benji’s guest appearance last week.

Their second routine had Mandy Moore using a prop again, but the Map was perfectly integrated and unobjectionable even to me, the PROP HATER arrgghhh

I cannot stop watching this routine. I rewound it last night on the DVR and I watched it twice today while getting screen-shots. Their energy was through the roof. The whole thing was fantastic and brilliant and they are just plain fun to watch.

They should be in the top 3 tomorrow or America has lost it’s last marble.

*****

Tonight is going to be the test case for the rest of the season. Twitch and Kherington turn in basically the worst combined performance of the night. Now we wait to see if they push through to the top 3 solely on fandom or if America is actually voting for talent?

Don’t get me wrong, these guys can be fantastic, and deserve to be in the top 10, but it’s pretty undeniable that they fell on their faces last night, at least compared to 4 of the other couples.

Their Krump was god-awful. I hate to echo Mary, but Kherington was visibly tired by the end, and they were not in sync at all. I thought they got a little unfair favorites treatment during the judging as well. They got an awfully good review for a pretty dismal performance.

I have nothing against Krumping other than the fact that choreographing it sort of defeats the purpose. I wish they’d kick Lil’ C. to the curb and find another regular choreographer. Krumping never does anyone any good on SYTYCD.

The only good part of this routine was Kherington’s dress. I think someone spiked their vitamin water last night because both routines were so tired looking. This Jean Marc choreography at least had potential.

If America votes for actual performance quality, these guys should be in the bottom three tonight.

*****

Their first dance was one of those ballroom-via-modern-music routines, also choreographed by Jean Marc Genereux. The song was “Iris” by the Goo-Goo Dolls.

I tried a long time to get a better screen-shot but these silly dancers wouldn’t stop moving! Actually it was the nearly nauseating camera work that made it difficult. Oh well.

Their technique was too bouncy, exactly as the judges commented, but overall I think it had heart, connection, and entertainment power, which is sometimes the best you can hope for when two non-ballroom people take on a ballroom routine.

To end the show, we got a FABULOUS Bollywood routine!

The best performance of the night, some awesome choreography, and unlike the Australian version of SYTYCD, the Bollywood routine came with authentic movements and a real Indian song.

Here is the Aussie SYTYCD Bollywood from this past season:

Katee and Josh were blessed to get this routine, but they did not fail to impress. This is the other dance I had to rewatch on the DVR last night!

Love the costumes as well. Katee looks amazing.

I hope this genre isn’t considered too gimmicky to bring back later in the season. They could even give it to the double-girls dance when they get down to the final 4, or make it a full-out group routine later on.

Nakul Dev Mahajan is pleased! Hope to see him again.

*****

Welp, that’s it for the Episode 5 Recap. If all goes well tonight, Will & Jessica, Comfort & Thayne, and Twitch & Kherington will be the bottom three, with Comfort & Thayne going home.

That will leave us with a killer top 10. If you’re the kind of person interested in the top-ten tour, it will run Mid September through Mid November this year. Dates are here.