Elisa is on the road today, so I'm stepping out of the wings and into her spotlight with this week's recap of So You Think You Can Dance!

I'm very well-versed in the ways of reality TV (perhaps a little too much so), but I also have some background in dance, too. I've got history with ballroom, with a focus on East Coast swing, some beginning ballet, and several years of musical theatre; I'm also seriously considering taking some B-Girl classes. Watching this show will do that to you!

I've been watching since the middle of Season Two, so a lot of the past dancers are very near and dear to my heart. That said, I'm really looking forward to seeing what this year's dancers will have in store for us.

Tonight's jidges are Nigel, Mary, and Mia Michaels. Mia's prediction for this season? "Banoodles." Okay!

1. Thayne and Chelsea T. started with a Mandy Moore jazz routine to "Untouched" by the Veronicas.

Oh dear. This was almost like Mandy trying to do a Wade Robson or Mia routine (remember Neil and Danny's dueling princes from last year's finale?), but it just fell short. I think that the theme -- a king and his forbidden lover -- would have worked better in a pure contemporary piece or a partner dance. As it was, I agreed with the judges and thought that something was off. The movements didn't really flow together and it didn't seem high energy enough for either Thayne or Chelsea, both of whom can rock it out when they need to, as we saw last week in their cha cha.

Bottom line: Going first and not getting a great response from the judges? They're in trouble.

2. Chelsie H. and Mark danced an Alex de Silva Argentine Tango to "Mi Confesion" by Gotan Project.

I really enjoyed this routine; the intensity from Mark was stunning, and their amazing chemistry continued through from last week. The kicks and dips were so good, and with this pair, you can really tell how much they trust each other. I worry that it being so early in the show people might forget how good it was, though, especially after some of the later performances.

Bottom line: Very strong routine, well-liked couple, but still early in the show. Safe, but it'll be close.

3. Jessica and Will drew a Cecily Bradley and Olisa Thompson hip hop routine to "Whatever U Like" by Nicole Scherzinger.

This was an enjoyable routine, but Will really stole the show, as he does. Jessica had the sort of pageant-y smile that Kherington got dinged by Mia for later, which kind of pulled me out of it when I was watching her. Most of the time I was watching Will over her; I had to make an effort to watch her so I could remark on her dancing. The choreography was solid, and they both performed it really well, but again, Will was the one that got my attention.

Bottom line: A strong performance all around, but particularly by Will, and so I'd call them safe but maybe a little bit in trouble.

4. Kourtni and Matt did a Jean-Marc Generaux foxtrot to "Foggy Day in London Town" performed by Michael Buble.

Ouch, foxtrot. After disco, foxtrot is the Kiss of Death. I thought Kourtni and Matt did a great job when they were dancing separately, as they did achieve the sort of classic "old Hollywood" movement that the judges were talking about. However, it was when they were actually partnered and holding onto each other that things got messier, and foxtrot is, ultimately, a partner dance. Both Kourtni and Matt are contemporary dancers, so it makes sense that they're used to the solo parts, and while the lifts were amazing, the actual partnering didn't work for me.

Bottom line: Again, foxtrot, ouch. Not a good start after being in the bottom last week, so I wouldn't be surprised if they made the bottom three again.

5. Courtney and Gev performed a Mandy Moore contemporary piece to "Lost" by Anouk.

Just like Dom and Sabra, after pulling a disco in week one, Courtney and Gev get a lovely contemporary piece by Mandy Moore in week two. Like Chelsie and Mark, the trust between these two is what gets me. You could tell that she knew he would be there for her, and he was. And if you look at Courtney's face, she's not pulling the "glossy" smile -- she was letting her face show the emotions of the piece, which was stunning and so real for me. I really enjoyed it.

Bottom line: So very safe.

6. Katee and Joshua went Broadway with a Tyce Diorio routine to "All for the Best" from the 2001 Godspell revival.

My first note on this was "Nigel, sit down!" but I understand the enthusiasm (to a degree). This was very entertaining, even if I'm not sure Godspell usually gets choreographed like that. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) I had completely forgotten Joshua was a popper until they mentioned it -- I thought he was a contemporary dancer. I do think Katee didn't follow through with her movements as fully as Joshua did, but they both did an excellent job. Worth Nigel going that crazy over, not really, but they still were one of the strongest performances of the night.

Bottom line: Two great routines in a row for this couple means they're super-safe.

7. Susie and Marquis danced an Alex de Silva salsa to "Aquanile" by Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe.

Poor Susie and Marquis. This wasn't that good, unfortunately, and they were set up to be not that good, especially since they had the high amounts of pressure on Susie to be "more than a street dancer" and "this is your genre, so bring it!". And Marquis was truly trying to be there for her as best as he could. There were some great moments (like the handstand Susie did -- I cheered when they pulled it off -- and the various other lifts/tricks), but ultimately I don't think it was what it could have been. It just didn't come together into one piece.

Bottom line: While they're likely getting some sympathy votes, I think it's fair to say they'll likely be in the bottom three.

8. Kherington and Twitch danced a Jean-Marc Generaux Viennese Waltz to "A New Day Has Come" by Celine Dion.

Like Mia's routine about meeting her father in Heaven with Lacey and Neil last year, this is a difficult piece to fully judge in a competion because of all of the emotions attached to it. This was dedicated to Jean-Marc and France's daughter, who has no motor skills yet still responds to the visual stimulus of movement with joy. And it was, indeed, a beautiful, elegant dance, but it's still so personal and so emotional that it's hard to actually judge or even critique it. I was surprised to see that Kherington was barefoot -- for the second week in a row -- when we saw her practicing in heels during the rehearsal footage, and that none of the judges pointed it out.

Bottom line: It was lovely and emotional and everyone loves Twitch, so they're safe.

9. Comfort and Chris got krump with Lil'C's routine to "Come and Get Me" by Timbaland with 50 Cent and Tony Yayo.

Again, my notes read, "NIGEL, SIT DOWN." First off, he was beyond out of line, and he absolutely did it on purpose. By making it about him and not about the dance, viewers will be angry and will pick up the phone purposefully to vote for Comfort and Chris just to spite Nigel. The routine itself was okay -- the thing with krump is that it's about the weight shifting down to the hips and knees. As Lil'C said in the intro package, krump is influenced by African dance, which has the weight and balance lower down in the body with bent knees. Both Comfort and Chris were dancing too high up and too straight-legged/rigid for krump as I understand it; basically, it looked like a harder-hitting hip hop routine, and if it was supposed to be just that, it would have been fine. But it was supposed to be krump, and it just wasn't loose enough. Thus Nigel pulled faces and grimaces to distract everyone from the fact that it wasn't as good as it was supposed to have been, since Comfort should have blown everyone away with this.

Bottom line: Nigel is going to get what he wants: people picking up the phone to vote against him and keep this couple safe.

Bottom line for the Bottom Three:

I think it's going to be:
Thayne and Chelsea (ouch, Mandy, two weeks in a row your jazz hits the bottom two!)
Kourtni and Matt
Susie and Marquis

That said, if Susie and Marquis get the sympathy votes, which they could, it could easily be Will and Jessica in their place.

This is where they start to break partners apart, but if it's Susie and Marquis in the bottom three, I'd guess that they'd both be going home. If it's Will and Jessica, I would guess that it would be Thayne and Jessica going home with Will and Chelsea as a new pairing.

What do you think?

For more So You Think You Can Dance goodness, check out:

- Blogging So You Think You Can Dance is a great resource for info on contestants past and present and the show in general.
- Jennifer at Writeous Chicks is so glad to have Season 4 here (me too!!) even if we miss our friends from previous seasons.
- Tonya Plank of Swan Lake Samba Girl (a fellow ballet-ballroom type!) shares her thoughts on last week's episodes and shares some of her favorites from this season so far.

Thanks for reading my take -- and don't worry, Elisa will be back!