'SYTYCD' : Janette & Brandon's Dazzling Disco Night

Last week viewers got a first taste of the talent on this season of So You Think You Can Dance when the dancers took the stage in what guest judge Lil C has described as “a very solid beginning to what’s going to be a rollercoaster of a season.” Many shined — like Phillip and Jeanine, Kayla and Max and breakout couple Evan and Randi — while the less fortunate performers made up a bottom three that was easy pickings for the judges on elimination night.

Now in the second week of performances, So You Think You Can Dance was primed Wednesday for comebacks, starting with Asuka and Vitolio, who barely missed last week’s cuts after a soggy Broadway routine and so-so solos that left the judges perplexed. This time, they pulled a waltz by Luis Van Amstel that helped them find that missing ingredient in their chemistry. Appropriately set to Enya‘s “Dreams Are More Precious,” Asuka rediscovered her ballroom charm and Vitolio, once an orphan living on the streets of Haiti, brought judge Mary Murphy to tears with his “painfully beautiful” performance. Nigel Lythgoe put it this way: “Anybody that wasn’t touched by the beauty of that routine was heartless.”

Also in the bottom three last week (despite a nice cha cha), Jonathan and Karla did their best to stay away from that fate this time, taking on a contemporary piece choreographed by SYTYCD Canada‘s Stacey Tookey, set to “Falling Slowly” by The Frames. Mary was spellbound and dizzy with emotion, proclaiming that she had never seen anyone in five seasons do what Jonathan had managed to do: perform in another style “better than his own!”

But the hottest number came from Janette and Brandon, who cleaned house last week with their fox trot. Stepping into more perfection with a fast disco number choreographed by Dirty Dancing‘s Doriana Sanchez, the pair showcased his strength and introduced her graceful flexibility. Lil C, who shared Mia Michaels negative feelings on Bryant back in Vegas, was made a fan, calling it “the birth of progression in two amazing dancers,” adding that Brandon did a “phenomenal job!”

Randi and Evan also went two for two with a solid jive, also by Luis Van Amstel, and contemporary dancer Ade and ballerina Melissa put on their jazz shoes for a spectacular piece by Sonja Tayeh, while Jason and Caitlin, coming off a tough Bollywood number last week, were the first to not realize a Shane Sparks hip-hop number before Ashley and Kupono failed to fulfill his second piece of the night.

So while some like Phillip and Jeanine got technically beat with a tough tango by Tony Meredith, others, like Kayla and Max, who mastered a complicated Brian Friedman routine, stayed on Mary’s hot tamale train. With such a topsy-turvy turn of events, Thursday’s elimination show looks to be an eventful night — and a tougher decision for the judges. — Jed Dreben

Tell us: Who had your favorite routine of the night? Who’s in danger of going home?