Costumes steal the show on 'SYTYCD'

In the beginning of what will forever be known as the post-Alex era of "So You Think You Can Dance's" seventh season, Wednesday night's episode showed growth for all of the remaining dancers, save two.

The first would be Ashley, who is the second dancer in a row to get injured in rehearsals. Is there a NappyTabs curse now? After last week's amazing ninja hip-hop routine, Ashley had some damage to her ribs and was told to sit out the show (following Alex's hip-hop routine which turned out to be his farewell performance).

That doesn't sound as bad as what happened to Alex, so here's hoping she won't suffer the same fate.

So the only person who performed last night and didn't have one of his best nights all season was Jose. His B-boy routine with Dominic was some pretty great stuff, but he can do that in his sleep. When he had to go outside of his own style performing "Mr. Cellophane," even the judges, despite their weakness for his puppy dog face, had to point out that he just didn't have the moves down, and his acting was over-the-top. Courtney's showgirl outfit - in a routine that should have featured Jose - was the most memorable part of the performance.

But Courtney's costume was nothing compared to the feathers that Lauren and all-star Mark wore in their Tahitian dance together. Kudos to the show for continuing to bring even more diverse styles of dance this season. I'll go along with Nigel Lythgoe in saying that I don't know Tahitian dance, but I know what I like (though I'm still not sure why Mia Michaels decided to compare Lauren to a duck in heat).

Even if one didn't quite know how to critique her Shakira-esque moves in her first routine of the night, you can't deny that Lauren's "Boogie Shoes" along with Billy was one of the most fun performances ever on the show. Even though I can't quite believe I'm putting the name Billy and fun in the same sentence. He really saved himself from the axe this week by showing the pure joy of dance for the first time this season.

He also seemed to be having a lot of fun in his jive with Anya. Here was a dance where he had to be there for his partner - something he has struggled with - and he really pulled it off, while not missing a step. (Maybe Mandy Moore and "Dancing with the Stars'" Louis van Amstel provided some good luck.) This is the Billy Bell I've been wanting to see this whole time.

Another dancer who really shined this week was AdeChike. He had kind of faded into the background for me lately, but he nailed an extremely difficult salsa routine which could have been disastrous for him (maybe it's Anya who's the good luck charm?). Some of his moves weren't quite fluid enough for me, as Mia pointed out, but he gets lots of points for getting the steps and personality right.

AdeChike also gets major points for revealing that Kent's kiss with Lauren last week was not planned, as many suspected. Kent had a good week as well, his second in a row, and the pair of them did a terrific job in their Dee Caspary contemporary routine, though there shouldn't have been much doubt that they would.

Kent was seemingly born to play a baseball player in a "Damn Yankees"-inspired routine by Tyce Diorio, and the perfect all-star to join him was Neil. Like Mia said, his "gee whiz" quality was exactly what the dance needed.

As for Robert, he had his best week ever (not unlike Billy), but I wasn't quite sold on his Travis Wall routine with Allison or his disco with Kathryn. Both of them were extremely well-choreographed (and Travis' routine about his mother's surgery had the entire studio in tears), but I kept thinking that another dancer could have done a better job. I know Robert has his fans, which is why I have a feeling he won't be in the bottom two, but there seems to be something missing in his performances for me.

So who will be in the bottom two? For once, I'm clueless on the topic. Everyone had a good night, and I would be shocked if Jose's fans didn't pick up the phones for his dance with Dominic. I'm just hoping Ashley doesn't go out of the competition this way.

So I'll leave it to you: Who deserves to be eliminated this week? Do you agree that Billy and Lauren are really starting to shine in Alex's absence? Are you more of a fan of Robert than I am? Sound off on video, or the comments below.