Now that we’re down to the top ten dancers, all of the elimination episodes are brutal. When the performance show is as strong as last night’s? It’s ten times worse. Still, one guy and one girl must be sent to the big dance cloud in the sky, or wherever it is they hide them until the tour begins. Let’s get down to it!

The opening group number is a Broadway routine where the ladies wear very, very shiny hats and not much else.  The men wear shiny hats as well but they have much more fabric covering the rest of their bodies. There’s a lot of hat maneuvering in general, and it is jaunty and fun.

Cat kicks things off by asking Neil about his experience judging last night, and then reveals she had a crush on him when she was a teenager. It’s basically adorable. If I ever met Kirk Cameron, I would tell him all about my giant crush on him from his “Growing Pains” days, and then run away quickly before he starts prosthelytizing.

The first three dancers Cat calls to the stage to learn their fates are Melanie, Tadd and Mitchell. Being in a group with Melanie should have those boys shaking in their dancing shoes. She’s not going anywhere. This is exactly what happens, and Mitchell is put in the bottom four while Melanie and Tadd are safe. Poor Mitchell, saddled with that awful Tyce DiOrio routine. It was inevitable.

The next group to face the gauntlet is Marko, Sasha and Clarice. I know who I think is in the bottom from that group (Clarice, the girl who I didn’t even recognize last night) and I’m right again. I might not agree with the judges, but I sue have my finger on the pulse of America! Or something.

At this point, Cat reveals which All-Stars our dancers will be working with next week: Ivan from season two, Jaimie from season three, Anya and Pasha, Lauren G., Neil (who gets a huge cheer from the audience), Ade from season five, and season seven winner Lauren F. Interesting who they think needs a season designation to jog the audience’s memory and who does not.

The third group facing potential elimination is Jess and Ricky, with Ricky going to the bottom four despite a pretty strong performance. Hmm, both of the men in the bottom four performed Tyce DiOrio routines. Interesting, she notes without further comment.

The final group is the two remaining ladies, Caitlynn and Jordan, who is wearing a bra with a veil. There is really no other way to describe it. Both of these ladies did a fantastic job last night, so it’s sad to know one of them will be dancing for their lives. Jordan gets the bad news, and the tears in her eyes are a little bit heartbreaking.

The professional dance of the evening comes courtesy of Daniil Simkin, a soloist from the American Ballet Theater, who I totally had to Google. That first name is tough. He sort of looks like a young Fisher Stevens, which is a bit distracting at first. Ultimately, though, it is a charmingly quirky and wonderfully danced performance.

Solos are up next, and of the ladies Clarice goes more trick-oriented while Jordan leans toward emotion. As for the men, Mitchell hits the emotional angle while Ricky goes for musicality, energy and fun. The judges have their work cut out for them!

The musical performance of the night is Blush featuring Snoop Dogg. I have no idea who Blush is, and I’ve never heard this song before, but it seems like Snoop will pretty much do anything these days, huh? The song is absolutely horrible, but it’s kind of nice to see a multicultural girl group. Best of luck, ladies, but please don’t make me ever listen to that again.

The first to face the ax are the ladies. Nigel says the vote is unanimous, and asks the boys to come out so he can talk to them as well.  Nigel then reminds half the people up there of all the awesome prizes they aren’t going to win. He’s such a sensitive guy, that Nigel. He does it for a nice reason, however, saying none of them are bad dancers but this is the way things must be. Then he quickly dismisses Mitchell and Clarice without any of the usual dithering. Looks like someone got a talking to about going one minute over last week!

Honestly, Clarice and Mitchell feel like the right decision this week. Mitchell was mostly done in by bad choreography, and although Clarice’s Bollywood number was fun it wasn’t one of the more memorable ones the show has featured. No matter what, both of them will be on the tour for America to see again.

What do you guys think? Did the right two dancers go home?