She Didn't Make The Cut On 'SYTYCD'

The time has come to say goodbye yet again on So You Think You Can Dance. Jacque and Casey were eliminated right before the Top 4 performances. While the cut has to sting the most at this stage, it's not that big of a surprise. The ballerina and the contemporary dancer have definitely proven their worth on the show so far, but in my opinion, neither was ready to truly battle for America's Favorite Dancer. They both have a slight lack of versatility in other genres of dance and they've got more than a few appearances in the bottom dancers throughout the competition. But it's still hard to say goodbye as both dancers are extremely talented and performed two beautiful routines on Wednesday night.

Casey really had shown a level of growth I honestly never expected to see on the show. From the first few weeks where he was barely hanging on thanks to his awkwardness in choreography and partly thanks to his less-than-ideal partners. But ever since he performed a beautiful contemporary routine with newly crowned Top 4 contestant Jessica, Casey was getting better and better.

In fact, Wednesday night's contemporary routine was, in my opinion, the best Casey has ever danced on the show. While leaving after a number like that would be painful, at least he can hold his head up and know he ended his run on SYTYCD on an extremely high note. Though Casey didn't seem to be too terribly shocked and depressed to be eliminated. In fact, when Cat asked him to say something, he said he didn't expect to make it as far as he did and that he was proud of his journey. Way to look on the bright side, buddy.

Jacque's time seem to be up last Wednesday. After losing my favorite Tanisha, it seemed America was going to be extremely unpredictable in their voting. Jacque's Hip Hop routine was never going to measure up to Jessica's emotional contemporary routine with All-Star Will and so far Valerie has been untouchable in the competition, despite having a few not-so-stellar routines during the Top 10. Jacque already lost potential romance on the show when her could-be boyfriend Rudy was eliminated alongside Tanisha and when Jacque performed other more out-of-the-box styles outside the realm of her ballet sweetspot, she almost always retained that stiffness of ballet. Plus, both Jacque and Casey were in the bottom with Tanisha and Rudy last week. Despite Jacque's beautiful routine with a red exercise ball (oddly enough) and a brilliant partner like All-Star Will, she could not save herself in time to make the Top 4.

So the dancers are down to the final four: Ricky, Jessica, Valerie and Zack have made the final cut which means that for the first time, two tappers are in contention to be America's Favorite Dancer. That's a feat in itself but after Wednesday night, it's looking more and more like a possibility, especially considering Zack's epic — and I mean epic — Hip-Hop routine with Fik Shun choreographed by SYTYCD alum Philip Chbeeb. Somehow the tapper was able to keep up with the incredible talent of Fik Shun and hit the routine as hard as many Hip-Hop dancers wish they could. Routines like this not only prove why Zack deserves to still be in the competition, they also show that Ricky's not the only one who can conquer styles outside of one's own genre. If that doesn't define the title of America's Favorite Dancer, then maybe I don't understand this show at all.

Images: Mike Yarish/Fox