So You Think You Can Dance Top 16: Marquet and Brooklyn Leave

The top 16 dancers left on SYTYCD danced a modern routine to Take Me to the River by Annie Lennox for the opening group number.

It was fluid, and while it wasn't totally to my taste, it was incredibly impressive to see the eight couples doing almost all their moves in sync. It was an energetic song, but, like I said, left me cold.

Tonight the couples remained together, with the two dancers whose partners went home paired together.

Mary, Nigel and Misty Copeland (guest judge) were back together for the third week in a row, ready to jump on board the Hot Tamale Train.

Host Kat Deely revealed the three female and male dancers who pulled the fewest votes last week, two of whom would end up leaving at the end of the show. They were Bridget, Marquet, Brooklyn, Serge, Tanisha and Zach.

They all have one last chance to persuade the judges to let them stay.

Valerie and Ricky came up first, dancing a Bollywood routine to Dilliwaall Girlfriend fo the Yeh Inwani Hal Doowani soundtrack The routine was fun, energetic, and incredibly athletic. Ricky incorporated more grace than Valerie, who looked more athletic than graceful. They still pulled the routine off well, according to Mary.

The judges have frequently said it is really hard for dancers to pull off Bollywood energy, but they really did the genre proud. High-octane energy, leaps and an amazing amount of movement made this dance fabulous.

Misty did think Valerie could have brought more sharpness to the dance, which might have taken care of the feeling of watching a feat of athleticism versus dance.

I'll go on record with my winning prediction: unless Ricky finds a style he really, truly cannot connect with, he will be going home the winner if the judges have anything to say about it.

You can watch the dance yourself below.

Up next came Bridget and Emilio with a contemporary number to The Leaving Song by Chris Garneau. Emilio is playing a troubled man, trying to leave Emily behind and the piece was beautifully choreographed to a soft, melody-focused song. They danced their way around a metal bed frame with some beautiful leaps, and their extensions were excellent.

The judges were blown away by the choreography, which speaks well for the dancers.

If the choreography comes through so strongly, they did a fantastic job conveying the emotion. Both dancers have begun to grow and will likely be around next week.

You can watch the routine below.

Tanisha and Rudy danced hip hop for us to Good Kisser by Usher. It was slick and required some incredible flexibility on Tanisha's part.

It moves back and forth between slow, sinuous movements and some seriously frenetic energy.

Guest judge Misty Copeland described Tanisha as "subtle sexiness that wasn't overdone," and told Rudy he was Tanisha's perfect partner, a complement to her attitude and movement.

Jessica and Marquet next performed the foxtrot to Nina Simone's I Put A Spell On You. They are dancing something people spend their lifetime trying to perfect, focusing on smoothness while keeping everything just-so.

It's a deeply dramatic routine, glamorous and almost dizzying.

There were some fantastic moments in the side-by-side sections, and this was the perfect number to showcase Jessica's talents while Marquet had a harder time with the in-close sections. Overall, the judges were underwhelmed.

Carly and Serge came to the stage with a contemporary number to '90's hit, Foolish Games by Jewel. It involved a lot of interplay between the two as Carly played up the interest and Serge 's character was of two minds.

The most impressive moment was the ending, when Carly slowly, ever so slowly, fell to the floor. They are truly improving as dancers, and it's evident in this routine. You can watch them perform in the video below.

Emily and Teddy then danced a salsa to Bruk It Down (Soca Remix) by Mr. Vegas featuring Allison Hinds. The salsa routine was not your typical salsa -- it required a lot of lifts and tricks broken by fast footwork.

Emily didn't seem comfortable with the dance itself, though she did slip while performing and had a great recovery. Teddy seemed much more comfortable with the dance, but they didn't seem to work terribly well as a couple.

This routine may have been a little too advanced for them. They were definitely the worst couple of the night, despite the worries over Emily's dislocated shoulder and the lifts.

Jacque and Zach took on a jazz routine choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, who is far and away my favorite choreographer. She's such an intense person, and the video of her sitting there in the studio, snacking on something while giving them the crazy eyes just made my night. They danced to Back to Black by Beyonce, featuring Andre 3000.

The mood is intense and explosive, just what Tayeh was looking for. The potential pushed you to the edge of your seat and was my favorite of the night.

Their dancing was remarkable and the routine edgy and interesting. You can watch the routine itself below.

Finally, Brooklyn and Casey closed out the pairs dancing with a hip hop routine to Ace Hood's Hustle Hard Remix Ft. Rick Ross & Lil Wayne. This genre of dance is really far out of their regular styles of dance, and it showed.

They learned the moves, but didn't seem to truly feel the dance, with Brooklyn holding herself too stiff and Casey not letting himself truly get into it.

They didn't get low enough and were too worried about their positioning to commit. You can watch the routine below.

To mix things up, the group of 16 split into two smaller groups of eight, one of them dancing a routine choreographed by Travis Wall, the other by Sonya Tayeh.

Tayeh's number was up first, and she called it "The Village of Broken People." They danced to Bjork's So Broken It was raw and passionate, terrifying at times, and surprisingly delicate. It was more than gorgeous, and likely lent some support to Casey and Emily who had less-than-admirable performances as pairs.

If you weren't lucky enough to see it the first time around, watch it below. You won't regret it.

The second group closed out the dancing with Wall's number. It's certainly a lighter routine than Tayeh's, and more dynamic in its lifts and throws. They danced to ONeRepublic's Love Runs Out and really went for it. I felt like I was watching the dancers at a OneRepublic concert.

That is, if they have any. It made you want to jump up and learn the routine yourself, but didn't carry the emotional wallop that Tayeh's routine packed.

It played perfectly to Wall's preferred kinds of numbers. They earned a standing scream from all three judges, led by Mary's irrepressible personality.

While the judges conferred, Pretty Little Liars actress, Lucy Hale, performed her country number Lie a Little Better.

Once Mary, Nigel, and Misty returned, the six mentioned at the beginning of the episode lined up. Bridget, Marquet, Brooklyn, Serge, Tanisha and Zach nodded through Nigel's reiteration of their interest in going with America's vote overall.

In the end, Brooklyn and Marquet went home, despite Marquet's incredibly strong performance during the group number. I would have sent Teddy home instead of Marquet, though I cannot argue with the choice to send Brooklyn home.

Come back next week for the latest recap!