'So You Think You Can Dance': Mary Murphy is on my hot tamale train

It's week two of Vegas Week on season six of "So You Think You Can Dance," and they're pushing our contestants to the ankle-spraining limit. The fall season excitement wore off a bit for me during the audition rounds, but now that the Top 20 is within sight I'm starting to get really jazzed again! Which brings us to [please note the amazing segue]...

Jazz Round:

Laurie Ann Gibson teaches the remaining dancers a jazz routine, and she is T.O.U.G.H. tough. Matthew, half of the married Latin pair we met in Boston, is a complete disaster while his wife Karen squeaks through. I really can't be sympathetic when he was so blatantly lost compared to the other dancers on the stage. And he's not the only one to struggle - Nigel reams out a number of dancers including Iveta, our ballroom rockstar, who is eliminated along with Willem, the remaining same-sex ballroom dancer.

Mollee, the gal whose family packed up and moved to LA, keeps up with the routine, but Nigel thinks she danced like a little girl. She makes it through, but she sprained her ankle pretty badly in the process. Russell, our favorite krumper, rocks the house once again. The judges can't believe he doesn't have any formal training. Yeeeeeah!

Group Choreography:

After their brutal day jazzercising, the dancers are split into groups to choreograph routines to randomly selected music. The first group to perform in the morning is Russell's, dancing to a Broadway song. It's actually really cute, if not especially technically challenging in my opinion. The judges really dig it. Most other routines seem to get praise, but the few groups that bombed had dancers cut.

Like a champ, Mollee comes back from the hospital ready to dance on her sprained ankle. When her group tries to choreograph around her injury, Mollee insists on dancing more. Babe, if you mess up your ankle even worse you won't be able to dance at all! The final routine is really inventive - they incorporate Mollee's injury into the story. Sadly, Mia Michaels finds it "stupid," and Nigel thinks they acted more than danced. They make it through, though!

I wish we had seen more of the good routines. I know we only have an hour, but this is one of our only opportunities to see the contestants choreograph for groups, rather than merely their own solos. But to air more routines, the editors would've had to cut into the Toughest Round Ever, and then where would we be? Aimlessly floating through life with no drama, that's where.

Contemporary:

...And that brings us to "the round that everyone dreads most": Contemporary, with Mia Michaels. She tells the quaking dancers not to be scared, leads them through some relaxation exercises, and it's hugs all around...but I assume she's just calming the lambs down so she can lead them to slaughter. Turns out she's actually turned over a new leaf! A warm and fuzzy one, even. Is this penance for being so harsh with Brandon last season?

Kevin, our hip hopper who made it to Vegas in season three and auditioned this year in Boston, surprises and impresses the judges.  Billy Bell, the adorable little contemporary dancer, is another standout. And do I have to mention that Russell killed it yet again? Mollee and her sprained ankle also limp through. B-boy Legacy does better than I would've thought, but I felt like it was still too rough for the show. Mia Michaels, however, found him "perfectly imperfect" and let him move on to the next round. I like him, but really?

Broadway:

Tyce gives the gals a very physically demanding routine set to "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This," from "Sweet Charity." Nice choice! Pauline, who was eliminated in the final round last season, lands wrong during rehearsal and just destroys her ankle (again with the gross close-ups...cut it out, editors!). Rough. Bianca makes it through, and the Year of the Tapper lives on! Ashleigh Di Lello, half of another married couple, finally shines. See, this is a genre where being over-the-top expressive can be a good thing!

The guys perform to "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" by Billy Joel. Are there so few Broadway songs in the world that we have to resort to jukebox musicals, Tyce? I know it's the style of dance that counts, but you couldn't throw us actual Broadway fans a bone? Ryan Di Lello and his exposed chest sail through, but Dominic - felled by an injury last year - is eliminated. And he crumbles. To the point of all the judges being like, "Dude, you need get it together!" That's a tape he's going to wince at five years from now. Or five months from now.

Solos:

The remaining 38 dancers perform their last-chance solos and Billy Bell, my adorable pocket pixie friend, is up first. You guys, he brings Adam Shankman to tears. Beautiful, beautiful tears. Dance, pocket pixie, dance! I wish we could've seen a couple more solos (Russell!), but the montage is just bananas. How can they cut anyone?! Can't we have a Top 40 this year?

Cheers and Jeers:

The biggest cheers possible to Mary Murphy for being brave enough to share her story. Here's hoping it gives women in similarly abusive situations the courage to break free and the hope for a better life, as well as the confidence to report spousal rape without fear of being stigmatized or laughed at. For a celebrity to share a story like Mary's is just huge, and I really think it'll make a positive difference. No jeers this week.

Any final Top 20 predictions? Dancers you were disappointed to see cut this week?

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