The Tabitha- and Napoleon-choreographed "Seven Nation Army" group dance that kicked off tonight's So You Think You Can Dance top 12 elimination show was enough to make a girl pledge allegiance to the White Stripes. (Wow!)
Sadly, it wasn't all zippy numbers—we also lost two well-regarded dancers. Who went home and why? We've got the scoop, straight from the set...
Caitlin Kinney and Phillip Chbeeb were eliminated tonight. The other bottom-six dancers were Jason Glover, Jeanine Mason, Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi.
So why did Caitlin and Phillip go home? As judge Tyce Diorio told us after the show, "In the weeks to come, if Phillip had a paso doble..." Oh god. "Exactly." (To put Phillip's strengths and weakness in context, check out what Travis Wall and Heidi Groskreutz did with a paso doble in season two.) As for Caitlin, Mary Murphy told us, "We saw three very strong individual female dancers...The others had more extraordinary performances along the way."
Other highlights of the evening including Kupono's reaction at being declared safe ("Shut. Up.") and Ade's high-flying solo. You should have seen it live. He was no less than six feet in the air—it was stunning, the audience simultaneously said "Whoa," and everyone leapt to their feet to applaud.
Nigel Lythgoe also shared the news tonight that Sony had refused to clear the music for a Michael Jackson tribute, telling reporters after the show, "They came back today with, 'I'm sorry we've been asked not to do shows like this.' " (What the heck?)
So, what are your feelings about tonight's eliminations? Tragic or about time? Share your thoughts in the comments!