Teens, Tappers & a Twist: Meet Your SYTYCD Top 20! Wed., Oct. 21, 2009 9:20 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Here they are, America—your top 20!
On tonight's So You Think You Can Dance, "Your… judges!" settled on their favorite contenders to take the show into its sixth—but first with the chill of fall in the air—season of competition.
One by one, a bevy of contemporary dancers, a few ballroom specialists, a couple of hip-hop types, a few wild cards and—could it be—a tapper or two (or three) got the news that will turn them from hardworking artists anonymously honing their craft to network TV stars whose legs and abs will be ogled by millions.
As usual, the process started with the first contender making that long, solitary walk to the room where Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Adam Shankman (who will be starting his tenure as a permanent judge on the panel next week), Debbie Allen, Tyce Diorio and a freshly shorn Mia Michaels (who, unlike Shankman, is on her way out) were waiting to tell 18-year-old Nathan Trasoras his fate.
And you know how those judges like to make it sound as if they're going to say no.
So it sounded, at least, to Nathan, who auditioned for season five but, being only 17 at the time, merely received a ticket ensuring him passage to Vegas in the fall.
"As you know," began Mia, "this show is so difficult emotionally and physically and there has to be a maturity. And you're a baby... And we feel that we would like to be a part of your growth. So you are in the top 20!"
Oh, boo-yah!
And so it went—though not for another half-hour, during which four of the 38 dancers facing the music in Wednesday's episode were sent packing.
But once the good news started flowing again, it came in waves.
Not one, not two, but three tap-dancers—Bianca Revels, Phillip Attmore and Peter Sabasino—made it into the top 20, a place no tapper has gone before.
In another first, the top 20 welcomes its first-ever krumper, Russell Ferguson, who never ceased impressing the judges as Vegas week went on, excelling in ballroom, contemporary, Broadway and every other style they threw at him.
Billy Bell, whose final solo made Shankman weep (in a good way!), got the good-natured run-around from Allen, but ultimately learned that he would have to ask Julliard to put that scholarship on hold.
One of the night's surprises included the ascension of both the choker-rocking Mollee Gray and her best bud Noelle Marsh—we figured the producers would want to split the girls (as they did roomies Katee and Natalie in season four) for dramatic effect.
But we should have known that husband-and-wife ballroom dancers Ryan and Ashleigh Di Lello were being reserved for that special treatment.
Ryan was one of the last two guys left standing and he got the go-ahead over fellow ballroom specialist Gene Bersten.
Then it was down to dual ballroom gals Ashleigh and Karen Hauer, whose hubby was knocked out during Vegas).
The judges went with Karen, but just when you thought the evil show was splitting up a married duo—out burst an ecstatic Ashleigh, who didn't know upon going in that the absolutely adorable Paula VanOppen had turned down her spot to pursue a movie role.
Here's a rundown of the season six top 20, who will pair off and dance for the first time next Monday at 8 p.m. on Fox:
• Channing Cooke, 18, contemporary
• Nathan Trasoras, 18, contemporary
• Russell Ferguson, 20, krump
• Kathryn McCormick, 19, contemporary
• Billy Bell, 19, contemporary
• Ariana Debose, 18, contemporary
• Ellenore Scott, 19, jazz
• Jakob Karr, 19, contemporary
• Bianca Revels, 20, tap
• Kevin Hunte, 23, hip-hop
• Mollee Gray, 18, jazz
• Phillip Attmore, 25, tap
• Noelle Marsh, 18, contemporary
• Victor Smalley, 21, contemporary
• Pauline Mata, 19, jazz
• Peter Sabasino, 22, tap
• Karen Hauer, 27, Latin ballroom
• Legacy Perez, 28, b-boy
• Ashleigh Di Lello, 26, Latin ballroom
• Ryan Di Lello, 28, ballroom
Source eonline.com