...Set: SYTYCD S7 - Vegas Week & Top 10 Reveal

Another jam-packed two hours wherein we saw the last of Vegas Week and the reveal of this season's Top 10 dancers. Though I have to say, that last hour of reveals with all the attempted fake outs that only resulted in one fake out that I actually believed, gave me an almighty headache. Two hours is a long show, people. A long one.

Anyway. The biggest news of Vegas Week was that Ida Saki decided to withdraw from the competition. She said it was because of a school scholarship or something, but the judges accused her of not being able to take negative criticism. Well, one less contemporary for them to parse through later, I suppose. There's not a ton to talk about, really. We see some more of the dancers that have been featured thus far, and a few others that eventually get cut anyway, so I'm not really going to talk about them either (I will mention that the poof-haired girl, Nicole Knudson, got the boot before the finals, and I was not so sad to see her go, sorry poof). I will make a little note about the delightfully cute Kent Boyd, who had a great moment after his contemporary, though I do not appreciate Nigel already giving him the "you're going to grow so much!" business. We will hear that non-stop as long as he sticks around. People, he got LIL C to cry. Lil C! Amazing.

At the end of Vegas Week, there were 24 dancers left waiting to hear their fate. Unlike years past where they told them one by one there in the studio, they decided to either go to people's houses or tell them over the phone this time around. Imagine if you were one of the phone people! Clearly that would not seem very promising, and indeed it wasn't. We didn't even get to see most of those people, and truth be told hadn't even been told their names throughout Vegas Week anyhow.

First off, here are some of the dancers that were given quite a bit of focus that got cut. Adrian Lee, who Mary gave the bad news to. But if he comes back next year he'll probably have a good shot. And Anthony Burrell! I was a little surprised he didn't get in. I'm not sure he's the type who would come back again so that will be sad. But there's only so many spots this year and a ton of contemporary dancers, so... alas. And, Ryan Ramirez. You know what, I'm not sad about her. She gave me a case of the blahs.

But now, without further ado, here is your top 10 America!

Girls:

Lauren Froderman - Nigel tried to fake her out over the phone first, but then SURPRISE showed up at her house. She's a contemporary dancer, one of the many that got into the top spots, though the men seemed to have more than the women in that department.

Cristina Santana - Toni went to meet with the salsa dancer to give her the good news. It came as no shock, as they needed at least one ballroom person to make it into the top. My prediction is she'll be one of the first to go unless she does something amazing, though.

Ashley Galvan - This is literally the first time I have ever heard this girl's name. They do this every year, send through a couple of people they have given no focus on. Have these ones done well in the past? She is apparently a lyrical dancer, though I'm not sure how that's any different from contemporary. Semantics!

Melinda Sullivan - Mia visited the tapper and her mentor to give her the good news. While she isn't as strong in other categories as she is in her tapping, she has that sparkle. She may get the "different" moniker like Kupono or Mark in seasons past, hopefully she can pull out some cool stuff like them. 

Alexie Agdeppa - This cute little thing finally made it into the top! Mary was really working her up to feel like she hadn't made it in, but then turned it around. She has a very fun personality, I think she has staying power unless she gets something terrible off the bat.

Guys:

Jose Ruiz - The breaker showed a lot of talent in Vegas Week, though he may not be as technically proficient as the other guys. He's the only hip hop dancer in the entire group, including the ladies! He has some really stiff competition with these other guys, though.

Alex Wong - The ballet dancer who wasn't able to be on the show a couple seasons ago because he was in a contracted position now gets his chance. He gave up his position to do this, so I'm sure it was a great relief to make it onto the show. He is probably the best technician of the group, but he needs to step up his personality to get voters on his side.

Adechike Torbert - One of the many contemporary guys, Adechike stumbled a bit in his early Vegas rounds, but showed the judges what he can really do with a dance for your life solo. Can he beat out the other contemporary dancers, though? Because there are a fair few.

Kent Boyd - Aw, shucks. Nigel apparently got completely lost in Ohio trying to find Kent's small town of Wapakoneta. He even got a speeding ticket! But once he made it there, he got to give Kent and his entire family the good news. Kent has some serious heart, and I hope his dancing lives up to it once he's on the big stage in front of a big crowd.

Robert Roldan - This would be the male contender that we have never heard the name of before this moment. There have maybe been a few clips of him here and there, but he certainly will have a tough time getting votes with so little screen time up until this point. He's also another contemporary guy. Are we seeing a trend.

Billy Bell - Now, wait a gall darn minute! "You've already listed five guys!" you say? I KNOW. This was the one fake out that truly faked me out. Adam went to deliver the news to both Robert and Billy at the same time, and told Robert that he was the last guy. I was completely surprised by that, then Adam went and said well, they decided to change the rules and let an 11th person in. So now Billy can compete like he was supposed to last season before his mystery illness.

And there you have it. Your top 11 dancers. Out of those eleven, there are a LOT of contemporary or contemporary-esque dancers. They can't all be on top! Do you have any favorites so far? Anyone you already have had enough of? Tomorrow I'm thinking we're getting a taste of what everyone can do before voting officially begins.

And... I'm spent. Time to let the Advil kick in. Headache - be gone, I say!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode