So You Think You Can Dance: Season 8, Ep. 4 and 5 :: Meet The Top 20

Jun 09, 2011

This week, So You Think You Can Dance announced the Top 20 for their 8th season. Episodes 4 and 5 aired on June 8, 2011 and June 9, 2011.

So You Think You Can Dance: Season 8, Ep. 4

Courtesy of FOX

So You Think You Can Dance is moving at warp speed this season, offering up two or three episodes per week in the race to the Top 20. Well, the time has come, and the Top 20 have been revealed! This year, the show has combined two episodes: the Top 20 announcement, and the Top 20’s show-America-what-they’re-made-of introductory episode.

The Contemporary Dancers

The first four contestants invited into the Top 20 were contemporary dancers Ricky Jaime, Miranda Maleski, Melanie Moore and Sasha Mallory. Together, they performed a Stacey Tookey contemporary routine that was nothing short of beautiful. They set the bar for the night, and the dancing only got better and better.

The B-Boys and Hip Hop Dancers

Next to receive the good news were Chris Koehl, Wadi Jones, Tadd Gadduang and 30-year-old “woo man” Robert Taylor Jr. The four boys performed a Dave Scott Hip Hop routine that was strong, if you don’t count a couple of unsynchronized moments.

The Lonely Ballroom Dancer

Poor Iveta Lukosiute. She was all alone in her category. But that didn’t mean she had to perform alone. SYTYCD welcomed back Season 3’s Pasha to perform a spicy ballroom number to J-Lo and Pitbull’s song, On The Floor.

The Jazz Dancers

There weren’t as many jazz hands as there were jazz claws in this category. The two “sexy” jazz dancers, Jordan Casanova and Missy Morelli, both made it into the Top 20. The other two jazz dancers, Marko Germar and Clarice Ordaz, better move out of the way. I sense a catfight coming on. The four of them performed a spicy and strong jazz number choreographed by the one and only Sonya Tayeh.

The Misfits

Jess LeProtto and Nick Young both rocked their own individual styles - Broadway and tap. They performed a duet that united both styles and allowed their characters to shine through.

The Leftovers

While the final five dancers may have been the leftover contestants, their beautiful dancing in Travis Wall’s contemporary piece showed that they deserve more recognition than that. Caitlynn Lawson, Ashley Rich, Ryan Ramirez, Mitchell Kelly and Alexander Fost rounded off the Top 20 with their amazing, graceful performance.

Group Numbers

To finish off the night, the Top 10 girls and the Top 10 boys each performed together. The girls did a particularly powerful job with Sonya’s Japanese geisha routine. And finally, the entire Top 20 took to the stage with a number choreographed by Tyce Diorio.