Season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance

I've been lame and haven't posted anything on this latest season of So You Think You Can Dance. Dearest Vance over at Tapeworthy wrote up a great summary about the show last week that showcased our season 8 Top 20 dancers that I encourage everyone to read.

But I'm going to try and end my writing hiatus now by briefly talking about the top 20, and five of the finalists that I'm excited to see perform tonight. In general I'm impressed by every single contestant this year, which might be a first for me. So far I've really enjoyed everyone's performance. Although I'm a little concerned that I may grow tired of some of the dancers and their annoying personalities (I'm looking at you Robert and Ricky!), and fear that I'm already weary of Jess' schtick and that thin line he rides right on the edge of arrogance.
I'm super excited that they've brought back a top 20, and can't wait to see who they pair up together. And then once it's down to a top 10 this season the All-Stars are back!! They showed Allison, Twitch, and Kathryn in the audience of the LA auditions which made me think they're coming back, and we got Pasha(!) on the top 20 reveal last week, but will the rest of last season's All-Stars be returning? As much as I love him, I could do without Dominic and maybe see Legacy in his place. And I'd really love to have Jakob on my screen again beyond the 2 seconds they showed him doing some of the choreography at the auditions. MarK Kanemura is on tour with Gaga again I believe so I'm not sure if he's available. Maybe we could get Will!

Anyway, here are the dancers that caught my eye last week that I'm excited to see tonight. I'm not saying that they're my favorites yet, just that they stood out the most and left me wanting to see more. True favorites probably won't emerge until after tonight or next week.

Clarice - She's just so pretty. And I love her jazz style. I don't remember her original audition if we saw it, but she was a shining star in Vegas.

Marko - I think this is the dude with the bullet in his shoulder? Anyway, he's kind of great. I remember his audition in NY or wherever and his lyrical jazz style surprised me but on last week's ep he was amazing. Can't wait to see who he's paired up with.

Melanie - My #1 choice to win this whole thing. Her smile and joy is infectious. How can you not love her? Also? She's a fawking AWESOME dancer. Totally kickass.

Nick - Hmmm, I didn't really like this kid in his initial audition. And I don't remember them showing him in Vegas at all. But then all of a sudden he comes out on stage last week and totally wowed me; both in the Broadway routine with Jess and in the boys "hip-hop" routine. I won't lie; I am hot for him.

Tadd - I saw this guy for the first time in last week's Vegas semi-final eps. I haven't liked a b-boy this much since Legacy, and Tadd seems to have a real knack for other styles of dance. Whenever he was on stage during the top 20 reveal episode I couldn't take my eyes off him. I am completely intrigued.