So You Think You Can Dance 9 - Recap Live Blog - Top 10

7:51 - Hello there dance fans! Tonight, SYTYCD returns with All-Stars dancing for the first time this season with our Top 10. After last week's less than thrilling experiment with the Top 14, I am excited what the All-Stars are going to help bring to the stage!

7:54 - So where exactly do you think everybody lines up for this season? As I said last week, I think the guy's title is going to come down to either Cole or Cyrus with my money heavily on Cole at the moment. I just do not see Will, George or Cheheon being able to contend for the prize. As far as the girls are concerned, I think that competition is wide open. I believe it is safe to say Lindsay is not going to win given her Bottom 6 appearances two weeks in a row, and that Witney has more steam right now between the pair of ballrooms dancers. The other three girls (Eliana, Audrey and Tiffany) all have a great chance in my mind, so we will just have to see.

8:02 - Seriously? Oh Tyce Diorio, why do you have to go and do that to me. I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of Broadway, but it definitely has its merits as a dance style and should be in this competition. Also, Tyce just annoys me because he such an obvious camera-whore. All of that aside, I quite liked that routine. It was fun and cheeky, giving some really nice moments for all of the dancers. Then he had to go and ruin it by putting himself in it. Yeah, I understand Cole was hurt, but still, you know he just jumped at that opportunity. Oh Tyce, you are so predictable.

8:05 -Cat returns with some great style tonight, especially if you consider last week's disaster. Let's never mention it again.

8:06 - Benjamin Millepied, better known as choreographer of Black Swan and Natalie Portman's husband, is the guest judge tonight. Eh, he is hot and French, so that will do.

8:11 - Tiffany Maher is teamed up with Season 5's runner-up Brandon for a Doriana Sanchez disco routine.While they definitely had some great energy and the tricks were stellar, it felt a little too spastic. Disco is a high-energy genre with a lot of strong and forceful moves, but it is also very fluid. Once again, the tricks were awesome, but the dancing in between was just "meh" for me. It seemed like they attacked it too much in an effort to keep their energy high, and the performance suffered as a result for me.

8:13 - Let's play a little game tonight. Since we know the judges already know the bottom dancers, I suspect their critiques will telegraph the decisions they have already made for who they are voting off. My bet, given the comments she just received, Tiffany is safe.

8:18 - Witney Carson and Season 1's winner Nick have a Travis Wall Jazz number. Damn, that was hot. Seriously, they brought the heat. To quote Debbie Allen in the greatest comments ever given to a pair of dancers, "Somebody call the fire department honey, because that was hot!" For me, this was the first time that Witney really came alive and I saw more than a dancer with good technique. Loved the lines and the overall feel of the piece; it felt and looked very sensual without overdoing it. From the way the judges were talking, I think Witney might be in a little trouble though. A lot of discussion about how great she has been all season and risen to the tasks that were given to her, which makes me believe she could be in the bottom tonight. We shall see.

8:24 - Anya from Season 3 and Cole Horibe dance a Cha-Cha routine from Season 2's Dimitry. This was a solid routine all things considered, but it was easily Cole's weakest of the season. It just read as if he was a touch nervous, probably because he received a genre that he could not execute amazingly. I think the judges' critiques were spot on, between the quality of his movement to the fact that he performed to the audience too much and not Anya. Ballroom is all about partnering, even more so for the male. Still, it felt like the comments were mainly honest and an attempt to not let Cole simply run away with the show midway through the season. He is not in danger, in my opinion.

8:31 -Lindsay Arnold and Season 6's runner-up Jakob draw a Broadway dance for tonight. "Apparently, my shadow is a dude?" HAH! Well done there, honey. Like I said earlier, Broadway is not my thing, but I can appreciate it for what it is. In other words, this was a really nice and clean routine, if it was not my favorite thing to watch. I really liked the musicality of the number, and both Lindsay and Jakob brought a crispness and fun to the number that is necessary for Broadway. After two weeks in the bottom, I am willing to bet Lyndsay is safe tonight from what the judges were saying. I seriously doubt they would save her three weeks in a row this late in the season, so the comments were simply too positive that they are sending home.

8:41 - Season 6's Kathryn teams up with Will Thomas for a Bollywood number by Nakul Dev Mahajan. Alright Will, go on with yourself! I might have to amend my earlier comments about nobody having chance for the guys besides Cole or Cyrus. Two weeks in a row, and Will is pulling out some quality that I did not think he had. That was probably my favorite Bollywood routine ever, after Katee and Joshua's of course. It really helped that he had Kathryn for a partner, because that girl only knows how to bring it to the stage. It was strong and energetic, and had a ton of personality. Yeah, Will throws his face too much and mugs for the camera at every chance, but I would rather have a dancer that needs to be pulled back performance wise than pushed father. Will's safe tonight. No doubts.

8:49 - Season 3's Jamie (one of the most underrated dancers of ALL TIME on this show) has Cyrus Spencer for a partner Travis Wall's second routine of the night, this time Contemporary. I am going to call bullshit here. Yes, that was a very beautiful number, but that was due to Jamie's movement and Travis' choreography. Plain and simple, he did in fact dumb down the choreography for Cyrus, Mary. The reason there were so many connections and lifts was simply because Cyrus would not be able to do any of the other contemporary movements that could/should have been asked of him. He was masked on that stage, and I think it is a great disservice to the other dancers that things like his feet, legs and lines are being dismissed by the judges as unimportant Also, it is not as if there have not been other dancers on this show who have not done stunning work outside of their genre. Hello, pretty much all the winners, every All-Star and then some would fit in this category. To compare what Jamie did there with what she did with Hok is just atrocious. Simply put, that is bullshit. This late in the season Cyrus needs to be better. Of course he is safe, because duh.

9:01 - Lauren from Season 3 and Chehon Wespi-Tschopp dance a Lyrical Hip-Hop routine from Dave Scott next. Apparently, Chehon and Witney just needed to be separated to have their standout performances. That easily the most relaxed and free we have seen Chehon this season, and I really have to give credit to Lauren. I did not love her during her season and thought she was favored for no reason by the judges, but she has done really well as an All-Star, at least for me. Poor girl got stuck with a terrible costume, however, so that sucks. Anyways, the routine was solid, and certainly had that loose and easy feeling you want from Lyrical Hip-Hop. Like Nigel said, it seemed like the first time that Chehon enjoyed himself, and I definitely want to see more of that going forward. My prediction is that he is a little in trouble tonight. That chided him for his past performances and commented on the way he is improving, so I am willing to bet he is safe in the end. Have I mentioned how much I truly hate that the judges know the results before the dancers dance? It just brings the integrity of the show into question too much for me.

9:09 - Season 2's Allison and George Lawrence Jr. get a Tyce Diorio Jazz number, and I feel bad for them. Okay, that is not fair. I have actually liked Tyce's stuff this season, and that is probably because he has been used less. Last season, in my opinion, Tyce's well was dry, but he has been doing some nice routines like tonight's. I have to say, I agree with Nigel here. George always just seems to be on the stage but not present, and tonight was no different. It also hurt him that he danced with Allison, who is just a phenomenal dancer in every way. I really like the concept of bringing back the All-Stars these past three seasons, and love that it gave a chance for Allison to prove exactly how great she is. She has always been one of my favorites. So yeah, George looks destined for the bottom here again. I am betting he is heading home tonight, because he received a lot of "your technique is so strong, but you do not perform" comments. I bet Nigel and Co regret sending home Matt now, as they absolutely should.

9:18 - Eliana Girard and ALEXMOTHERFUCKINGWONG from Season 7 dance a Stacey Tookey Contemporary routine. Ugh, the terribleness that is the fact that Alex Wong only got to compete for three dances on his season. I love Lauren as a winner, one of my favorites of all time in fact, but Alex really should have won his season. What a shame, but such is life. Glad, however, he was brought back tonight to have the best dance of the season with Eliana. So much of that was just fantastic, from the quality of movement to the performance level, that I simply cannot begin to list all of the positives. Just go watch it again, and revel in Stacey, Alex, and Eliana's brilliance. It really is sad that she had to partner Cyrus for the first part of this season, because it hampered her awesomeness. She just became the favorite to win for the girls, and is going nowhere tonight.

9:27 - Audrey Case and Season 4's tWitch end the night with another Dave Scott Hip-Hop number. As my roommate just said, Audrey has a definite control over her body, but "eh."So yeah, that was not a disaster, but I am afraid it was not good enough or memorable enough at this stage in the show. She just did not commit enough or perform. Passable for the first couple of weeks, but just not good enough for this week. From the way the judges were talking, I would be fearful if I was Audrey. Not enough positives, and too many hedging-their-bets comments.

9:35 - Witney and Audrey are in the Bottom 4 for the girls, and Chehon and George for the guys. Called that bitch.

9:38 - So George is certainly gone, unless Chehon does something absolutely atrocious like punch a baby on the stage. Even then, he would probably be saved. Witney and Audrey is a little bit of a toss-up. Audrey had a great few first weeks, but has been fading. Tonight was her worst effort, while Witney had her best performance. Sure, solos favor contemporary dancers over ballroom ones, but I am willing to bet Witney is saved. We will just have to see.

9:40 - Oooooooh Witney just brought it. Damn, she has been having a great night, and that solo was just strong enough to keep her in it. Audrey did some nice stuff with hers, but it felt like a swan song more than anything. Well, Chehon basically just punched a baby. What was that? Too indulgent, too slaw, simply lacking in almost everything. It sucks that this is the third week in the row that George is in the bottom, because he just blew Chehon out of the water. That was brilliant, and had all the presence that he has been lacking in his other dances.

9:45 - My money is on George and Audrey going, giving everything that has happened so far this season. Chehon might have just done himself in though, so it is going to be a close one.

9:48 - Beautiful guest routine from L.A. Dance Project. Light, elegant and fluid, if a little bit sad. I think that was totally intentional, so it was nice to see emotion like that conveyed across my screen.

9:53 - WITNEY IS SAVED! That means, Audrey is heading home. I thought Audrey could have made the finals and had an outside shot at the winning it all after the first few weeks, but she just kept sliding as the season went on.

9:55 - CHEHON IS SAVED! Chehon should be down on his knees in gratitude that this was George's third week in the row in the bottom. George slayed his solo, but that was truly the only dance he killed all season.

9:59 - So we lose Audrey and George tonight. It is a shame really, but I am not that sad about this. They were good dancers, but they never really brought it for me or made me connect with them. That is a real shame, since they are part of the Top 10, but that is how it goes some seasons. What do yo all think about tonight's results? Sad? Mad? Glad? Let me know in the comments! Until next week!