So You Think You Can Dance: Two of 6 Voted Off Live (Episode 421)

We begin the road to the final four with a Mandy Moore contemporary group number set to one of my all-time favourite cheesy songs: Bette Midler's "The Rose." Good times! The white-clad dancers pair up and lift and twirl and emote as Bette reminds us that love is like a river, a razor, a hunger and, of course, a flower. The editing on this live routine is less frenetic and choppy than usual, most likely due to the slow music, but I'd still rather see a steady, medium shot. It's the dancing that's fancy; we don't need it in the camera work. This isn't Moulin Rouge, people.

Cat takes the stage and tells us that after Nigel's clunky plug of that voting website Declare Yourself last week, registration went up 400%. Which is great, unless there were only, like, ten people initially registered. Adam Shankman then tops that news with the revelation that the winning dancer will be awarded a featured dancer role in his new movie. A quick trip to my good friend IMDB shows that Adam's only movie currently listed in production is Topper, starring Steve Martin as a guy who gets taught the meaning of life and/or fun from some wacky ghosts. Who will apparently be dancing.

Hey, Twitch already had a small role in Hairspray, so at least he'll be right at home if he wins. If you care to bust out the DVD, he's the guy near the end who teaches Amber how to get funky and dance negro style. I know some fans think it's bogus that Adam Shankman can be a judge on the show while Twitch is on, while Debbie Allen couldn't with Will. I say there's a huge difference between Twitch being one of the zillion dancers in that movie to Debbie personally teaching and mentoring Will for years.

The judges all give some thoughts on the final six. Nigel warns them all that a life in dance means a life dealing with rejection, and not to let it get them down if they don't win. I can't disagree. He also adds that each dancer received over a million votes each, which would certainly be an ego boost. Mary thinks they all deserve to win and have grown so much, and she gets a tad verklempt. (Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: Remember when Mike Myers was still funny?)

Adam says this is the time of their lives, and somewhere, Green Day perk up and hope they'll make the song selection cut next week. Adam also tells the dancers they're all kind and sweet people, and I have to agree. Such a genuinely nice bunch. Adam adds that they should remember to always respect their fans and be grateful to them. I heartily agree again, and not just because I'm hoping for a hug from Twitch should I ever happen to stalk see him on the street.

Now all the dancers solo again, and seriously, I'm really bored of the solos. It's nothing at all against the dancers, but I'd much rather see them doing little pair or group numbers just to mix it up. It would be fun for them to choreograph together, too. Courtney writhes and twirls and somersaults backwards, but in an emo way. Mark does the usual weird strutting, and there's too much posing for my liking. Katee does her usual, and as usual it is well done. Joshua starts in a chair and pops and locks his way across the stage, doing a cool split thing we've seen before from him. Chelsie does a kicky country number, which is a nice change for her. Twitch moonwalks and glides around the stage as if on ice, which Cat remarks on.

This week's guest performer is six-year-old Lil' Demon, a completely adorable tyke who break-dances and flips and jumps about very impressively. He barely reaches Cat's waist, and she gamely hauls him up into her arms to interview him. He tells us that he's been dancing for two years and learns from his brother. There's strangely no brother reaction shot in the audience, so we're not sure how old the brother is. For all we know, he's eight and is a teaching prodigy.

Now it's time for the eliminations. Or so we think. Really, it's time to tell Katee she's safe and then make Courtney and Chelsie wait for twenty minutes. Ouch! Next up is the guys, and Joshua rightfully goes to join Katee in the off-stage final four waiting area. Twitch and Mark are now playing the waiting game, and we all have to sit through a performance (and I use the word lightly) by Lady GaGa, whom you might recall was supposed to appear a few weeks ago. She sings "Just Dance," and looks as if she belongs in The Apple, one of the most fascinatingly and hilariously terrible relics of the '80s. It also happens to have been choreographed by one Mr. Nigel Lythgoe. Dare I wonder what other skeletons are rattling around in his walk-in closet?

So, now it's finally time to find out which woman is safe. And it's...Courtney! Awesome! That's a bit of an upset, and although I really like Chelsie, I love Courtney. Chelsie takes it like a champ, and the girls hug and kiss before Courtney scampers off into Katee and Josh's waiting arms. Katee actually lifts Courtney off her feet as they hug. Awww. We see a montage of Chelsie's greatest hits, and she's crying by the end and can't really talk. She says she's not sad, just overwhelmed. Very understandable.

Next up is the guys, and it's Mark saying farewell. He congratulates Twitch, and they hug before Twitch leaves to join the other safe dancers. Mark doesn't cry after his montage, but he enthuses that it was an amazing experience, and he's very grateful. He likens the show to "summer dance camp," which seems about right. I love Mark, and I'm sorry to see him go, although I love Twitch, too. As I said yesterday, I love them all!

Man, next week is going to be like Sophie's Choice. But with fewer Nazis, one would hope.