For the "Top 10 Gulls," Sonya Tayeh is really putting them through their paces. They're all afraid of Sonya, and rightly so. She says the concept of the routine is to make geisha girls "creepy and twisted." Done. The girls are working really hard in rehearsals, and it pays off on stage. The athleticism in this routine is really severe, with a lot of held positions at odd angles. It reminds me, at an odd angle, of my beloved Bollywood routine from season 5. Mary Murphy proves she is well and truly back by invoking the Hot Tamale Train for the first time all season. Not to be out done, Lil C busts out an acrostic of love for Sonya ("S=synergy; O=obstacles; N=never; Y=yes; A=abstract"), and says the girls really embodied Sonya's qualities onstage. This show is the most ridiculous, wonderful thing sometimes.

Finally, the Top 20 close the show with a group routine by Tyce Diorio. Which is pretty much sacrilege, since I am of the firm belief that only Wade Robson should choreograph Top 20 routines. That said, Tyce, I'm going to do the rare thing and lead with praise by saying "Little Bird" is a pretty rad choice for a song. Which then gives me some leeway to say that the choreography is pretty literal and afflicted with Tyce's usual "lots of moves, not a ton of vision" bugaboo. But at the end of the day, it's twenty amazing dancers getting their Black Swan on to a great Annie Lennox song. I can't exactly complain.

Next week: this mother gets started for real!

Joe R will probably stop bringing up Arielle Coker, though he has no earthly idea when. Questions, comments, and unadulterated love can be sent to him at joseph.reid21@gmail.com.