Welcome back from a two-week hiatus to Season 18 of “So You Think You Can Dance.” Did you miss us?
Our past two Monday nights weren’t nearly as eventful without the chance to watch our faves compete to be America’s Favorite Dancer. So in case you didn’t catch last night’s episode, we’re here to fill you in on what you missed—the dancing, the drama, the Deeley of it all. And trust us, this episode was worth the wait.
If your past two weeks were as busy as ours, it’s easy to forget what happened at the end of the last episode. To recap: The judges picked our top 10 (!!), and they’re not just going to be dancing together this year, they’ll be living together, too, for the first time ever.
We also found out that JoJo Siwa will be joining the judges table. And the final twist? This year, the “SYT” dancers will be competing outside of a studio setting, taking on practical dance challenges every week. “This season we’re taking the challenges off the shiny floor and into the real world,” said longtime host Cat Deeley. NGL, we got chills.
The first challenge the dancers faced? Music videos. The top 10 were randomly split into two groups and put to the test with industry icons Luther Brown and Phillip and Makenzie Chbeeb. The first (contemporary) group was assigned to work with Phillip and Makenzie to re-create the video for Justin Bieber’s “All Around Me,” and the duo were joined by Avery Gay, Dakayla Wilson, Braylon Browner, Roman Nevinchanyi, and Jaylin Sanders (much to the disappointment of Jaylin, the sole hip-hopper in the top 10). The second (hip-hop) group was asked to replicate the video for Lizzo’s “Juice” with Luther, and consisted of Olivia Alboher, Mariyah Hawkins, Madison Rouge Alvarado, Easton Magliarditi, and Anthony Curley.
The dancers went from rehearsals into the actual video shoot, where the judges joined them to begin their judging. They reminded the dancers that they’ll be evaluated not just on dancing but also on other metrics, like professionalism, group dynamics, and star quality. We weren’t sure exactly how you evaluate star quality, but we were excited to find out.
First up was the contemporary group’s performance. After watching the video in full, the judges gave their critiques. It seemed they couldn’t agree on who the star of the video was—for JoJo it was Dakayla; for Maksim Chmerkovskiy it was Jaylin. There’s that star quality we were looking for, folks!
The hip-hop group was up next, with a fun, upbeat performance. The judges loved the video but were concerned with Madison and Easton’s performances. They’re both strong hip-hop dancers, but they seemed to struggle a bit in the video. For Madison, the struggle was finding her groove with speed; for Easton, the struggle was standing out.
Next up, it was time for the results. The judges selected six dancers who were safe and heading to the next round, which left four dancers at risk of elimination: Easton, Avery, Braylon, and Olivia. Each dancer on the chopping block had the chance to perform a solo routine to prove their mettle, and TBH, these performances gave us all the vintage “SYT” feels.
The judges seemed particularly impressed with Easton and Braylon’s performances, and, in the end, their dancing was enough to see them through to the next round. Sadly, that meant both Avery and Olivia were sent home. “This is not the end. This is just the beginning for you,” Allison told both of the talented dancers.
And with that, we have our top 8. Who do you think will make it to the end as America’s Favorite Dancer?
